TikTok is rolling out a new program in the US that’s designed to help creators increase their earning potential and “unlock more exciting, real-world opportunities.” The Creativity Program builds on initiatives like the Creator Fund. TikTok wrote in a blog post that it took feedback from previous efforts into account while building the program.
Details are relatively scant for now, but TikTok says the Creativity Program will be invite-only at the outset before opening up to all eligible creators in the US in the coming months. Participants need to be at least 18 years old; meet the minimum follower and video view counts; and have an account that’s in good standing. TikTok hasn’t said how many followers a user will need to take part, but a previous report suggested the floor is 100,000 followers, a significant jump from the 10,000 baseline for the Creator Fund.
In addition to meeting certain concrete metrics, TikTok says users need to post “high-quality, original content longer than one minute” to be able to earn through the Creativity Program. It added that creators will be able to track video eligibility on an updated dashboard and see their estimated revenue alongside video performance data.
Many creators have taken fire at TikTok, with some claiming that they’ve received payouts of just a few dollars for videos that were viewed millions of times. The TikTok Creator Fund was unveiled in 2020 with an initial commitment of $200 million. Soon after, the company said it would support hundreds of thousands of creators with over $2 billion in funding over the next three years. TikTok hasn’t confirmed how much it plans to pay out through the Creativity Program, but confirmed to TechCrunch it will “provide a higher average gross revenue for qualified video views” under a revised formula.
TikTok is starting to roll out the Creativity Program in the US after testing it in France and Brazil over the last few months. The company has other monetization plans in the works, according to reports, such as a way for creators to paywall their videos. The Stateside debut of the Creativity Program comes soon after YouTube started sharing ad revenue with Shorts creators.
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