TikTok, the popular social media platform known for its short-form videos, made a significant change to its monetization strategy. The company has announced that it will discontinue the Creator Fund, which was launched a few years ago, in favor of a new monetization scheme called the Creativity Program. This change will be effective from December 16, 2023, in the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
The Creativity Program emphasizes longer content, with a required minimum video length of at least one minute. Previously, TikTok only allowed videos up to 30 seconds long, but now it has expanded its limit to 30 minutes. The company aims to create the best possible experience on the platform and believes that longer videos will help sell more ads. However, the main benefit of this change for creators is that they can earn up to 20 times more than what was offered by the Creator Fund.
TikTok stated, “We developed the Creativity Program based on the learnings and feedback from the Creator Fund, and we’ll continue listening and learning from our community as we explore new features and enhance existing ones to further enrich the TikTok experience.” While the Creator Fund will no longer be available in the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany, it will still be accessible for users in Spain and Italy, at least for now.
The Creator Fund was initially introduced in 2020 with a commitment of $200 million to be paid out to top streamers. However, it faced criticism when top users complained about receiving low payouts. Streamer Hank Green shared his experience, stating that he made about 2.5 cents per 1,000 views on the platform, which was significantly less than his earnings on YouTube and even lower than what he earned on TikTok before the fund was introduced.
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In contrast, the Creativity Program was introduced in February of this year as an invite-only system, but it has now been opened up to all eligible creators. To be eligible, creators must be at least 18 years old, have at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views in the last 30 days, and have a US-based account or an account in one of the other eligible countries. Users who switch to the Creativity Program are automatically removed from the Creator Fund.
According to a report from Insider, some creators have embraced the Creativity Program. Streamers with subscriber numbers ranging from half a million to several million have seen payouts ranging from low thousands to nearly $100,000 per month. This is a significant improvement from their previous earnings. One creator mentioned that the new program has been a complete 180-degree change for them.
While streamers may enjoy the longer format and the potential for higher revenue, users may need some time to adjust. In a recent internal survey conducted by TikTok, nearly 50% of users stated that videos longer than a minute were “stressful.” Additionally, a third of users watched videos at double speed, according to a report from Wired earlier this year.
As TikTok continues to evolve its monetization strategies, it remains committed to listening to user feedback and enhancing the platform. The introduction of the Creativity Program shows that the company is responsive to the needs and preferences of its creator community. With longer videos and the potential for higher earnings, TikTok hopes to continue attracting and retaining top talent on its platform.
