Last year, TikTok introduced a new monetization system for broadcasters Creative program promoting longer videos that allow you to sell more ads. Now the company is widely distributing this scheme under a new name Creative Rewards Programit only pays for videos longer than one minute.
“The Creator Rewards Program will continue to reward high-quality, original content per minute with an optimized rewards formula focused on 4 key areas: originality, playtime, search value and audience engagement,” the company wrote.
TikTok noted that longer content is more profitable, as “over the past 6 months, total revenue for creators has increased by more than 250 percent, and the number of creators earning $50,000 per month has doubled since the start of beta.”
TikTok is also expanding its subscription features for creators. Previously, only live streamers could access offers like exclusive (paid) content, badges, and custom emoji, but now the company is expanding these benefits beyond live streams.
“In the coming weeks, eligible creators can sign up to access a new way to empower their communities with added value through exclusive content and benefits, while empowering their most engaged communities to connect even more deeply with their favorite creators,” TikTok wrote.
The company’s Creative Fund, which has no minimum requirement for video length, and ended last year, was often criticized for low fees. Broadcaster Hank Green last year shared he said he earns about 2.5 cents per 1,000 views on the platform — a fraction of what YouTube earns and about half of what he earned on TikTok before the fund.
In comparison, select broadcasters have accepted the beta Creators Program. Some (subscribers range from half a million to several million) received payments ranging from thousands to nearly $100,000 a month, a “complete 180” from what they saw on the Creator Fund, according to one creator.
However, viewers have been ambivalent about longer videos. In an internal TikTok survey last year, nearly 50 percent of users said videos longer than a minute were “stressful,” and a third of users watched videos online at twice the speed. Wired report from earlier this year.
How to pay creators isn’t TikTok’s only problem right now. Yesterday, a group of US lawmakers presented a new bill that would force parent ByteDance to sell TikTok in order to keep the app in the US.
