TikTok is suspending its Creator Fund, a $1 billion allocation that pays out to users of the app who create successful content. The company plans to replace this fund with another program that pays out more money to creators.
The fund was rolled out in 2021 and gave successful creators, those who created TikTok videos with at least 100,000 views, the opportunity to apply to earn money from their videos.
TikTok, which launched the fund in 2020 with $200 million, said at the time it would reach $1 billion in the U.S. within three years. CBS News has reached out to TikTok to confirm the amount paid.
However, some creators were dissatisfied with the low profits they received from the fund. In January 2022, other prominent creators began sharing revenue after creator Hank Green complained about TikTok's Creator Fund in a YouTube video.
Green, who has 8 million followers and 599.7 million likes on TikTok, said in a 24-minute YouTube video titled “So… TikTok sucks” that he has posted more than 1,000 likes on TikTok. He said he earned about 2.5 cents per play.
Green primarily posts vlogs and editorial-style videos on YouTube, where she has 1.64 million subscribers. His videos on his TikTok have been viewed 1 million times.
He called the Creator Fund a “static pool” and said the amount TikTok pays creators will remain the same even if the app makes more money from the content they post. But YouTube pays a portion of the advertising money it earns on its videos, Green said. The more views and ad revenue a YouTube video receives, the more money creators can earn. It's unclear what percentage the creator gets from her YouTube.
A creator named SuperSaf, who has 652,500 followers and 10.4 million likes on TikTok, responded to Green on Twitter, the platform now known as X. He shared a screenshot showing that he earned around 112 pounds (about 137 USD) over about 10 years. A few months on Creator Fund.
“This is how much I've earned from the TikTok Creator Fund since April 2021, with over 25 million views during that time,” said a creator who shares reviews of tech products on TikTok. tweeted Go green.
Beast, who is popular across social media platforms and has a whopping 88.9 million followers and 882.1 million likes on TikTok, also responded. This creator not only shares videos of pranks and stunts, but also heartwarming videos, often handing out money to unsuspecting people. said he made about $14,910 in about 10 months in the fund.
Mr. Beast has 208 million subscribers on YouTube and more than twice as many followers on TikTok. It's unclear how much he earns on the platform per year, but Forbes named Beast one of the top content creators of 2023. Earned $82 million through YouTube channels and other business ventures.
Along with the phase-out of Creator Fund, TikTok has launched a new service. “The Creativity Program was developed based on learnings and feedback from previous Creator Funds,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News. “As we continue to develop new ways to reward creators and enrich the TikTok experience, we value feedback and direct insights from our community to inform our decisions.”
Starting Dec. 16, 2023, creators in the U.S., U.K., Germany and France will no longer have access to the original Creators Fund, a spokesperson confirmed to CBS News via email. All creators currently enrolled in Creator Fund can transition to the new program.
The new program, which is still in beta according to TikTok's website, will allow creators to earn up to 20 times more than Creator Fund, the company said. Users 18 and older with at least 10,000 followers and at least 100,000 video views in the past 30 days are eligible to sign up for the program on the app.
TikTok says the best format for posting content is to share videos longer than one minute in combination with short-form content. TikTok users spend 50% of their time on the app watching videos longer than one minute. Users can upload videos of up to 30 minutes and shoot videos of up to 10 minutes within the app.
App creators with large followings can earn money through brand partnerships by being paid by companies to post ads or promote their products. Some creators have become successful celebrities and signed contracts with talent agencies. You can also use this platform to promote your own business, such as a podcast, comedy show, or online girlfriend store.
