In a recent announcement, TikTok has decided to bid farewell to its original $1 billion creator fund, a move that has sent ripples through the global creator community. The platform will discontinue the fund for creators in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, starting from December 16th, 2023, according to TikTok spokesperson Maria Jung. Creators in Italy and Spain, however, remain unaffected by this change.
The TikTok creator fund, introduced in 2020, was an ambitious initiative by the company, aiming to distribute a whopping $1 billion over three years to individuals producing viral content on the app. While the idea was promising, many influencers and content creators noted that the payouts were often disappointingly low, sometimes amounting to just a few dollars for videos that garnered millions of views. The question that lingers is whether TikTok successfully distributed the entire $1 billion, as the company has remained tight-lipped about this issue.
With the termination of the original fund, TikTok is ushering in a new era for its creators with the introduction of the Creativity Program, unveiled in February of this year. This new monetization method is poised to offer higher payouts to popular creators. However, the Creativity Program comes with a significant twist – it requires creators to make videos longer than one minute, a departure from TikTok’s original short-clip format that catapulted the app to stardom.
Unlike the previous fund, the Creativity Program is not linked to a predetermined pool of money from which payments are disbursed. Instead, earnings will be determined based on a creator’s video views and other engagement metrics. TikTok has taken a big step by moving away from a fixed payout model, hoping to provide a more equitable and rewarding system for its creators.
TikTok’s Maria Jung notes that creators who transition to the Creativity Program could potentially earn up to 20 times more than what they were making under the original fund. This shift in payment structure reflects TikTok’s commitment to supporting its creator community while addressing some of the criticisms about the previous payout system.
The decision to retire TikTok’s original creator fund was not unexpected, as it was initially designed as a three-year program with a finite budget. Creators in the US, UK, Germany, and France who were part of the fund will have the option to migrate to the Creativity Program. This move ensures that these creators can continue monetizing their content on TikTok.
Earning money on TikTok has always presented unique challenges compared to other platforms like YouTube or Twitch. YouTube, in particular, has recognized the issue of low payouts and sought to address it by offering ad revenue sharing through Shorts, its TikTok-inspired feature. This competition highlights the evolving landscape of short-form video content and the fierce battle among platforms to attract and retain content creators.
In conclusion, TikTok’s decision to sunset its $1 billion creator fund marks a significant shift in the platform’s approach to creator compensation. The introduction of the Creativity Program promises higher potential earnings for creators, but it also brings changes to content format and a more dynamic payment structure. As the short-form video landscape continues to evolve, TikTok’s commitment to its creator community remains a central focus, ensuring that creators can thrive and monetize their creativity in this ever-changing digital age.
Photo by Cottonbro.
