TikTok Subscriptions Will Make the Creator Economy Go Mainstream
Subscriptions and tipping will allow Millions of Content Creators to enter the Metaverse
As first reported by The Information, TikTok has been testing giving Creators the option to create subscriptions. This could super-charge the Creator Economy as TikTok is the most watched platform and perhaps most visited website on the planet.
The feature is part of a limited test for the time being and is not broadly available. This is likely before Instagram claimed it is doing the same thing, this essentially means people are tired of creating content online for free.
We used to trade our data for the privilege of using platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others. But as consumers we found these platforms abused our privacy, farmed our data without content and fueled a clickbait Ads-driven environment of algorithmic attention farming.
Now it’s 2022 and even the most popular apps are thinking of how to rewards their most prolific and engaging creators. Creator Economy platforms continue to give a higher percentage of their revenue back to the person creating the content and it’s a huge shift in how the internet works as we approach the Metaverse.
TikTok confirmed Thursday that it is testing support for paid subscriptions, paving the way for creators on the short form video platform to charge for their content. Here we mean January 20th, 2022.
This as TikTok confirmed Thursday that it is testing support for paid subscriptions, paving the way for creators on the short form video platform to charge for their content. Tran has a celebrative impact on TikTok’s strategy including championing TikTok’s move to let top creators sell trending videos as non-fungible tokens, as well as the introduction of video-based CVs for members. Hello LinkedIn!
TikTok has established itself in e-commerce live broadcasts, giving social commerce an upgrade and it could pioneer the Creator Economy with its huge following and GenZ creators who have skilled digital transformers in their own right.
In Asia, live-streaming have been tipped by their audiences since forever, it’s a much more vibrant ecosystem. Instagram has only thought of subscriptions until recently, it appears. TikTok paid subscriptions test follows recent confirmation that it’s testing (TechCrunch) an in-app tipping feature on its platform that allows creators to accept money from fans outside of TikTok LIVE streams, where gifting is already supported.
While western platforms super-charged ARPU by ripping off creators and audiences, China is taking a different approach to how monetization works broadly speaking. China leads in how live-streaming works with E-commerce integration so far as Shopify partnering with both TikTok and JD.com more reecntly.
TikTok treats its top creators like All-Stars. This kind of pampering barely exists in Western apps. TikTok’s newest test is its latest push toward monetization and helping creators earn a living through its platform. Last year, the company introduced a $200 million fund aimed at helping creators in the U.S. supplement their earnings. TikTok also helps creators sign brand partnerships and sponsorship deals and also provides monetization for livestreams.
The Creator Economy Treats Creators with Respect
If you understand GenZ like ByteDance does, you understand what the Creator Economy will become. Many creators have a double presence on apps like YouTube, Twitch, Snap, TikTok, Twitter or some combination of Creator Economy platforms that are more niche to their audience.
TikTok and Instagram’s tests follow Twitter’s launch of “Super Follows,” a paid subscription offering that launched in September 2021. While Twitter is itself a niche platform, allowing eligible creators to set the price for Super Follow subscriptions, with the option of charging $2.99, $4.99 or $9.99 per month. Substack indeed likely started a trend.
Will Snap follow? Will YouTube? Will Bilibili? The Creator Economy will really evolve quickly now as we head into the Metaverse. This is what influencer marketing at scale becomes.
The advertising model monetizes accounts in a way that isn’t congruent with the hard work creators do to drive engagement for these platforms. Changing terms of service that are confusing and de-monetization without explanation means Ad-based systems likely aren’t very customer centric for creators.
We think of the Creator Economy has some western invention, but China’s internet is likely even more dynamic for user-generated content. Bilibili said that by the end of 2020, it had 1.9 million content creators who were contributing more than 5.9 million videos each month. ByteDance has its own version of TikTok in China called Douyin, where Douyin itself as many competitors, such as Kuaishou.
Instagram is eye-candy compared to the variety of content TikTok or Bilibili can offer. It’s like YouTube shorts on steroids. China might end up leading how the Creator Economy actually works in the Metaverse. So far in 2022 ByteDance continues disrupting Facebook, now called Meta.
TikTok introduced its Creator Next hub with monetization tools, and rolled out its tipping feature to eligible creators in December, after testing it with a smaller group. Tipping your favorite Creators in the Creator Economy will be ubiquitous by 2024, in addition to subscriptions and other types of monetization for the best and your favorite creators.