Caribbean Review: The IShowSpeed Effect: Tourism Boost or Exposure of Barbados’s Creator Economy Problem

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Introduction

Over the last few weeks, social media star IShowSpeed (nicknamed Speed) has been doing a tour of many Caribbean countries; during this tour, he went to Barbados, where he immersed himself into the culture. His guide accompanied him on activities such as racing a horse, making an appearance at a local school and even showcasing a display of Rastafarianism, where followers educated the social media star on the beliefs and its roots. Each island who has participated in welcoming Speed to their country has put on events displaying local cuisine, activities and culture,  a great way to utilise his multi-million fanbase to boost tourism. Other countries who have participated in his tour have had similar success, including China, Albania, and even Trinidad & Tobago, the first stop on his tour. Thus, this opportunity is an optimal platform for Barbados to be seen by a younger audience, and to boost their tourism economy. 

However, videos have surfaced online from locals posing questions to the Barbados government, asking them to answer why a foreign influencer such as Speed is allowed to receive investment into his social media platforms that contribute to his financial gain. Whereas many influencers from Barbados are struggling to monetize their content across social media platforms due to geo-blocking.  

What Is Geo-blocking?

In short, geoblocking is used to limit online content or services based on a user’s geographical location. Some platforms use geoblocking as a form of content control, making specific content only accessible within certain regions. For example, Netflix uses this technique, making certain libraries of content only accessible within certain countries. Amazon is another retailer who uses the technique to control prices amongst multiple regions that the company operates in. Many different sectors use geoblocking including sports streaming websites, software services, gaming platforms, and many more.

Geoblocking can also be used for legal reasons; for example, to limit the sales of products that may not be legal from country to country in compliance with national law. Other reasons include security and fraud prevention. Some regions have blockers to ensure cyber security and prevent digital attacks.

It is vital to acknowledge that during the 2000s and 2010s, the amount of geoblockers in use increased drastically. Companies needed support managing issues such as copyright licensing, regional broadcasting rights, pricing strategies and national regulations. Especially within the EU, geoblocking became a fundamental regulation however, there was a recognition in 2018 that there were cases of unjustified regulations. 

Platforms such as YouTube and Spotify have been found to comply with geoblocking, which limits creators from different regions in pivoting from using social media as a hobby into a source of financial income. 

How are Content Creators Impacted By Geoblocking 

In the past couple decades, content creators have used  social media to turn their hobbies into a livable income. Within a U.K. context, for instance, some creators who are earning thousands of pounds are required to pay tax given the high earnings from their trade.

However, geoblocking has meant that influencers in Barbados are not able to take advantage of the same financial benefits across platforms as their Western counterparts. Due to the delayed support for platforms such as YouTube allowing monetized content within Barbados, content creators can not maximise profit from their videos alone. Most have to secure brand deals and be paid directly, making the financial benefits inconsistent.

An 2024 article demonstrated that Google was one of the major search engines who had geoblocked Barbados, providing no explanation as to why the nation was blocked from fully accessing their monetizing systems. Furthermore, not all Caribbean islands have incurred the same treatment, which furthers the question as to why Barbados has been targeted. Government officials recognise that the orange economy, which comprises creatives and content creators, has a significant impact on businesses, estimated at $980 billion; this could be utilised further for economic growth, if the business was made widely available.

A counterargument was proposed by a Trinidad and Tobago news outlet, claiming that a lot of creators who want to apply for the monetization benefits on platforms such as YouTube, do not understand the requirements and expect financial income as soon as they make an account. The argument that is proposed within this article is that monetization systems through Google (like Youtube) are using systems such as Google Adsense, which widely supports every Caribbean country. Thus meaning that anyone with a digital bank account can link within the system.  

The framework for monetization on YouTube is: 

Ad revenue - To unlock this you must have: 

1000 Subscribers 

4000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months 

10 million Youtube Shorts views in the past 90 days

Other avenues include  the ‘Early Access Tier’ which makes generating AD revenue easier for those with smaller accounts, you must have: 

-500 Subscribers 

- 3 public uploads in the last 90 days 

- 3000 public watch views or 3 million shorts views

Early access does not mean full access to ad revenue, you might just get access to ‘Super level’ , which includes membership and shopping tools. 

If you are in the Caribbean your monetization has to be approved before you earn any money and this would be generated through adsense. Through the guidelines above any creator from the Caribbean must be generating around $100 before they receive a paycheck, anything less will roll over till the next month as payments are on a monthly basis (In line with Adsense guidelines).

The funds will then be deposited into the bank account directly, whilst being converted in local currency. This means that Cost per views otherwise known as (CPM) means that typical viewership across the region is lower meaning that creators from the Caribbean would not be paid as much compared to creators in the US, Canada or the UK.

The article closes out by acknowledging that Youtube like many other social platforms has to be used as an infrastructure that requires knowledge of how to structure content that is popular with masses of people, acknowledging that it’s key to use the platform to build their digital businesses to maximise their reach. As many creators are making a living off the platform within the Caribbean and the systems have been proven to work from this strategy. 

However discourse from Barbados and social media, challenges this as not completely accurate. As geoblocking poses limitations on a lot of features to monetize on multiple social platforms such as Youtube. 

What the Future Holds for the Orange Economy in Barbados

For foreign content creators like Speed to come to Barbados and profit from their online media platform can seem unsavoury, when the same freedoms are not afforded to Bajan nationals. Potential solutions do not seem immediate, but that they would require a significant push from government officials to support individuals included in the orange economy, therefore supporting tourism boosts driven by Bajan’s themselves for their country.

Many in Barbados acknowledge that there may be confusion with how monetization works across social media platforms; with the orange economy estimated at such a substantial figure, it could be worth investing into an educational system that supports creators in understanding the process. This would only be able to be implemented when geoblocking is lessened and such a pathway becomes an option. For now, the issue remains that Barbados needs an answer as to why they have specifically been geoblocked, and pursue solutions to rectify this.