The 90-day payment trap: what creators told us

This article reports what creators described to us in primary qualitative interviews across India. It is qualitative research, not a statistical survey, and we say so plainly. Even so, the pattern was consistent enough that we built a company around it.

What we heard

• Sixty to ninety days between delivery and payment was described as normal.
• Delays beyond a hundred and twenty days were common enough that creators stopped treating them as exceptions.
• Some creators described being paid nothing at all after delivering the work.
• Roughly 8 in 10 of the creators we interviewed said they had faced chronic payment delays or non-payment.

What a late payment really costs

A delayed invoice is an interest-free loan from the creator to the brand. For a small creator the sum can be a month of income. Waiting also costs time: follow-up messages, awkward reminders, and the quiet worry of whether to say anything at all and risk the next deal.

The effect is quieter than the money. Creators described taking on the safest work rather than the best, avoiding new brands, and, in some cases, drifting away from creating altogether.

Why it persists

Terms are often agreed in a chat. There is no shared record of what was promised, no neutral place to hold the money while the work is approved, and no visible consequence for a brand that pays late. A creator who raises the issue risks being labelled difficult.

What should change

Being paid should be the expected end of a collaboration, not a favour requested. That is the problem AdSphere is built around, and it is the first thing we want to prove with our early members.

Sources and limits

• AdSphere field research, 2025 to 2026. Primary qualitative field work with 70+ creators and influencers, 15+ agencies and talent managers, and 10+ businesses across India. Qualitative interviews, not a statistically sampled survey.