Imagine that ideal case: you completed a super complex job and everything went right. In fact, more than that, you made the campaign go viral, met all the goals set by the client, and far exceeded the brand's expectations. It was featured in portals, generated real engagement, and converted sales. A real home run.

But when it comes time to get paid… you have to wait 90 days for the money to hit your account.

This is the daily drama of thousands of content creators, independent producers, graphic designers, and agencies in Brazil. And no, we’re not talking about defaulting or occasional delays — we’re talking about contractual practice.

It’s what’s on paper. And, worse: it’s what the market accepts as "normal".

The creative economy operates under an asymmetrical, predatory, and profoundly unfair system, where the financial risk is transferred to those with less cash flow. While big players optimize their financial cycles, those who actually do the work are forced to wait, split bills, accept abusive conditions, or seek emergency credit at prohibitive interest rates.

Brazilian creativity is not stifled by a lack of talent. It is stifled by a lack of cash flow.

In this article, we will understand where this perverse logic came from, how it became consolidated in the creative sector, and what can be done — now — to turn this game around.

The historical origin of commercial credit

Before it became a toxic practice in the creative industry, commercial credit was just a pragmatic solution. A way to facilitate exchanges in a world where liquidity was scarce and trust was an asset.

Since the earliest civilizations, we have found records of financial instruments that allowed for the purchase of goods and services without immediate payment:

• In Ancient Rome, the use of praescriptiones — documents that evidenced debts — helped merchants circulate the economy without relying on cash.

• In Babylon, loans with installment interest were common, regulated even by the Code of Hammurabi.

• In the Maurya Empire (Ancient India), adeshas functioned as payment orders that could be transferred to third parties — a rudimentary type of promissory note.

These mechanisms had a clear objective: to facilitate trade flow in contexts of low banking and high economic interdependence.

Over time, this logic became more sophisticated. Banks began to mediate these operations, creating formal credit instruments between companies. What was previously an agreement between merchants became a corporate strategy.

At the center of this transformation is a concept increasingly used in boardrooms: working capital optimization.

The logic is simple: the longer a company takes to pay, the more time it has to use that money for other purposes — whether investments, stock buybacks, or simply accumulating reserves.

But what happens when this model is applied without balance, in asymmetrical markets like the creative economy?

That’s what we will see in the next section.

The modern distortion: optimizing cash at the expense of others

In the corporate world, the practice of extending payment terms has acquired a nice name: Working Capital Optimization. It sounds technical, efficient, almost elegant.

But behind this term lies an uncomfortable truth: large companies transfer the burden of capital to those with less bargaining power.

It works like this:
The company enters into a contract with an agency, producer, or freelancer. The work is delivered with excellence, on time. The client, satisfied, begins their internal accounting… and decides that payment will be made in 60, 90, or even 120 days.

This decision, purely financial and strategic for those at the top of the chain, has a devastating impact on the base:

• The small supplier needs to go into debt to cover production costs, team, rent, taxes — all of this before getting paid.

• There is no room for real negotiation. Either you accept the lion-like deadline, or you lose the client (and the portfolio).

• The creative chain becomes vulnerable: with each major campaign delivered, the pressure on the cash flow of the doers increases.

And more: this practice has been replicated in the creative sector without structural questioning. Large agencies impose the same deadlines on smaller suppliers. Platforms and vehicles adopt fixed calendars that penalize those without working capital.

The result? An ecosystem where creative success generates debt, not liquidity. Where excellence is punished with waiting.

This is the reality that has become normalized — and in Brazil, it takes on even more extreme contours.

The reality in Brazil: where time is even crueler

If in other countries the extended deadline is an inconvenience, in Brazil it borders on contractual cruelty.

While the average payment time in Europe is around 30 days and in the United States rarely exceeds 45, here the "normal" already starts at 60. And can easily reach 90 or 120 days — completely within legality, as long as there is a contract.

The FIRJAN reveals that more than 60% of businesses in the Brazilian creative economy are MEIs or microenterprises. That is: organizations with limited working capital, little access to credit, and almost no margin for maneuver.

What does this mean in practice?

• That many of these businesses need to resort to short-term loans, often with abusive rates, to keep operations running.

• That a single successful campaign can create a financial hole of three months in cash flow.

• That thousands of creators and producers live in a loop of debt, even delivering real value to the market.

Worse still: this model is not illegal. Brazilian law allows contractual parties to freely define payment terms. This creates a perverse dynamic where those who need liquidity the most are put against the wall, having to accept unbalanced clauses under the threat of losing work.

It’s a legal trap disguised as a market standard.

And when a system is structured to keep the small ones waiting and the big ones in control, innovation suffers, diversity shrinks, and the creative ecosystem becomes fragile.

Who really loses from this?

At first glance, it may seem that only the small service provider suffers from extended deadlines. But the reality is broader — and more corrosive.

The creator loses autonomy and creative power

When forced to deal with an unstable cash flow, the creator cannot plan, invest in their own growth, or freely choose the projects they want to pursue. They become an operator of emergencies, more concerned with invoices than with briefs.

The client loses quality

To keep cash flowing, the professional has to accept multiple jobs at the same time, often without the necessary dedication. The result? Average campaigns, rushed deliveries, compressed creativity. Excellence becomes the exception, not the rule.

The market loses sustainability

A healthy creative ecosystem depends on the diversity of voices, formats, and aesthetics. But abusive deadlines create a toxic funnel, where only those with reserves, investors, or margins to withstand the wait survive. And that excludes peripheral talents, new entrants, and independent agents.

The irony is that this model — designed to protect the cash of the big players — ends up eroding the very value these companies hire: creativity, innovation, cultural relevance.

It’s the famous self-sabotage.

But not all is lost. There are viable paths to change this game.

Possible solutions: three fronts to turn the game around

The practice of extended deadlines will not disappear overnight. It is deeply rooted in corporate logic, contracts, and the negotiation culture of the sector. But that does not mean there are no alternatives.

From DUX's perspective, the transformation depends on three fronts:

1. Cultural change: creativity is not a bonus, it is a pillar

We need to reprogram the symbolic and strategic value of creative work. Campaigns, brands, products, and experiences do not come to life without the ideas, executions, and talents that make them possible.

Valuing the creator is recognizing their need for liquidity.
It is treating creativity as an essential input — and not as a luxury that can wait 90 days.

2. Legal change: what Europe teaches

In 2013, the European Union implemented the Late Payment Directive, which limits contractual deadlines to a maximum of 60 days, unless otherwise justified between the parties. The intention is clear: to protect small and medium enterprises from systemic exploitation.

In Brazil, there is room to advance this debate. Not to stifle negotiations, but to prevent abusive contracts and ensure a minimum balance.

3. Adapted financial solutions: anticipation with intelligence

This is where DUX comes in. We know that changing contracts and legislation takes time — but liquidity solutions can be immediate.

DUX works with tailored receivables anticipation for the creative economy, using technology to offer:

• Agility (without banking bureaucracy)

• More accessible costs than conventional credit

• Empathetic and strategic service

• Products designed for creators, agencies, and collectives

Instead of waiting 90 days or going into overdraft, you turn your completed job into available capital. And you keep growing.

The good news? There are already people doing this — and reaping the fruits of a healthier flow.

The flow as fuel for creativity

The Brazilian creative economy pulses. It is vibrant, diverse, powerful. But it is being systematically weakened by a capital model that rewards those who already have and stifles those who create.

What is missing is not talent, nor demand, nor the will to create.
What is missing is flow.
What is missing is a system that recognizes the value of creative work not only in the year-end award, but in the signed contract, within the fair deadline, and in the cash flow of the month.

Transforming this scenario requires action on multiple fronts — cultural, legal, and financial.
But it requires, above all, a choice:
will we continue to romanticize creative suffering or will we build a market where excellence and sustainability go hand in hand?

At DUX, we believe that the creator should not be the last to get paid. They should be the first to grow.

Creativity needs flow.
Discover how DUX can boost your next creative project with tailored liquidity.
Talk to us now.