TikTok announced it is closing its original $1 billion creator fund and shifting focus to new creativity programs. Starting December 16th, Creator Funds will be phased out in the US, UK, France, and Germany. Creators currently enrolled in Creator Fund can switch to the Creative Program.
The Creator Fund, launched in 2020, has long been criticized by creators who complain of low compensation, with some saying they made a few dollars for videos that have been viewed millions of times.
TikTok introduced its creativity program in February, saying the fund would increase rewards for popular creators. TikTok said the creativity program's reward formula is designed to provide higher average total revenue for eligible video views. Unlike the Creator Fund, where there were no special requirements regarding video length, the Creativity Program rewards creators who create videos longer than one minute.
To be eligible for the Creativity Program, creators must be 18 years or older and have at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in the past 30 days. According to TikTok, eligible creators who post one minute or more of high-quality original content have the potential to earn up to 20 times the amount previously offered by the Creator Fund.
“Our ultimate goal is to create the best possible experience on TikTok and provide creators with a robust ecosystem of monetization services,” TikTok spokesperson Maria Jung told TechCrunch. said in an email to. “As part of our continued commitment to engagement and delivery, we need to evolve our products and apply resources elsewhere to best support creators and explore new services. We developed the Creativity Program based on learnings and feedback from Creator Fund, and we will continue to listen and learn from our community, explore new features, enhance existing features, and improve the TikTok experience. We will further enhance this.”
The Creativity Program is part of TikTok's suite of monetization tools, including LIVE subscriptions and TikTok Pulse. The company also has a monetization feature for tips and gifts, as well as a series feature that allows eligible creators to post content behind a paywall.
