Creators are finally getting time in the spotlight as leading social networking platforms have recognized their potential and the profits they can bring to the platforms. This prompted them to deploy tools and incentives to attract and retain creators on their platforms.
These include subscribing to Instagram creators (so creators can get support from their audiences, collaborate with brands and earn on ads or bonuses directly from Instagram and Facebook) and Super Follows from Twitter.
Another platform on which the wave of creators has emerged is TikTok, owned by ByteDance, which has become a quick hit since its inception in 2016. It is now stepping up its competition with competing platforms such as YouTube and Twitch by releasing TikTok LIVE subscriptions this week. These subscriptions, which are similar to the Twitch subscription feature, will allow creators to make a living from their work, as viewers have to pay to subscribe to streamers and view their content.
Launching in beta on May 26 (which is just around the corner), TikTok LIVE subscriptions give subscribers access to exclusive features such as emotion for creators, chat only for subscribers and custom badges designed exclusively for subscribers. As for the creators, it will allow them to constantly earn income, and not depend solely on bonuses or virtual tips.
If that’s not enough, subscribers will also be able to monitor camera angles in the creators ’live broadcasts, and the icons will be updated the longer the viewer is signed up to give long-term subscribers more visibility. Creators can also personalize their living rooms.
At this time, only a few creators have been invited to participate in the beta. “The LIVE subscription is an extension of our efforts to create a variety of opportunities to monetize creators that meet a number of creators’ needs,” TikTok said in a blog post.
This feature appears almost three weeks after the Chinese short-term video hosting service announced its plans to allow leading creators to make a share of the profits when their videos appear alongside certain advertisements. This is called TikTok Pulse and will include creators and publishers with at least 100,000 subscribers to the platform.
To be eligible for a TikTok LIVE subscription, creators must be at least 18 years old (or older) and have at least 1,000 subscribers if they want to offer a paid subscription, and a user must be over 18 years old to purchase the same. At the moment, the program is available only by invitation.
