TikTok's $1 billion Creator Fund will end on December 16, 2023, the company told users today.
TikTok spokeswoman Maria Jung said creators in the US, UK, Germany and France will no longer be able to monetize their content through the original fund. TikTokers in Italy and Spain are not affected by this change.
The Creator Fund was originally introduced in 2020, with the company pledging to pay out $1 billion over three years to people who created viral content for the app. In the process, influencers and other content creators are finding it impossible to make a living off creator funds alone, as the payouts are low, in some cases just a few dollars for millions of views. I realized that. TikTok did not respond to questions about whether it paid the full $1 billion.
Currently, payments to creators are based on views and other engagement metrics.
In February of this year, the platform introduced a new monetization method called the Creativity Program, where popular creators receive higher rewards. Unlike the original fund, the creativity program requires creators to create their videos longer than one minute. This is a notable difference from the app, which initially gained popularity with short clips. And instead of disclosing the pool of funds from which payments will be made, TikTok said revenue will be based on views and other engagement metrics. Since the launch of the new system, TikTok has been inviting eligible creators to move into the creativity program. Jung says the creator will be able to earn 20 times more than she was earning with the original funds.
It's no surprise that TikTok's original funding is disappearing. The program was limited to his three-year contract with a set contribution amount. Creators in the US, UK, Germany, and France who participate in the fund can transition into the creativity program.
Making money on TikTok has always been unpredictable compared to other platforms like YouTube or Twitch. YouTube specifically addresses the problem of low payouts by offering ad revenue sharing on TikTok's competitor Shorts.
