TikTok is setting up a new means of remuneration for content creators by offering them the possibility of publishing longer and, above all, paid videos. It remains to be seen whether this toll system will appeal to young users…
The business model of major platforms and social networks has been changing lately. It would seem that advertising revenue is no longer enough, which is pushing companies to develop paid subscriptions offering additional functions. This is the case with Snapchat+, Twitter Blue and, more recently, Meta Verified. To maintain its attractiveness, TikTok plans to better compensate creators. In a statementthe Chinese platform announces the arrival of Series, a “new solution for sharing premium content”. This new feature will allow creators to produce videos twice as long – 20 minutes instead of 10 minutes – to give them more room to maneuver. Each Series may consist of up to 80 videos, which will be available to the user after a one-time payment. Each creator will decide the amount themselves, ranging from 1 to 190 dollars, for a price that “best reflects the value of their content”. For now, Series is only offered to a limited number of tiktokers, and membership applications will open in the coming months.
TikTok: attract creators with means of remuneration
Retaining content creators has become a major challenge for social networks. And, for that, there are not thirty-six solutions: remuneration! Long and paid videos represent an excellent opportunity to monetize their community, much more than with the means currently available on the platform. Thus, the Series could allow artists to charge for services, or fitness teachers to sell courses directly on TikTok. But since the videos must respect the community rules, it will not be possible to publish adult content as on the OnlyFans platform – even if it is possible to flirt with the limit.
This new program can be seen as a direct response to YouTube, which announced at the end of 2022 that it would better remunerate Shorts, its developed short formats strongly inspired by TikTok, by paying them 45% of the revenues derived from them. For its part, the Chinese social network says it has no intention of taking part of the creators’ income from the Serie for a limited time, as reported Engadget. They will not affect all of the revenue, however, because Apple and Google collect 30% via the Play Store and the App Store.
This announcement raises some questions, for example on the security of transactions and personal data of users. In addition, TikTok being the preferred platform for young people, this can lead them to spend money under the pretext of supporting their favorite creators, especially since, from a legal point of view, they are not allowed to make payments online without parental consent. Finally, if the videos are supposed to exclude adult content in order to avoid an OnlyFans operation, it is quite possible to play with the limits and offer suggestive content, especially since TikTok will allow creators to restrict their content. suggestions that do not directly violate community guidelines — and therefore escape algorithms — to those over 18 (see our article).