TikTok, the popular short-form video platform, has announced that it will be discontinuing its Creator Fund, valued at $2 billion, starting on December 16. This move represents a shift in TikTok's approach to rewarding content creators on the platform.
The Creator Fund was initially introduced in 2020 as a way for content creators to earn money for their viral videos.
According to Engadget, TikTok pledged to shell out $1 billion over three years to those makers who create videos that fetch hundreds of thousands or even millions of views.
To qualify for this scheme, the makers had to gather at least 10,000 followers and garner a base minimum of 100,000 views in the past 30 days.
Nevertheless, numerous content creators found that they were receiving less income than expected from this payout system. Some responded with disappointment stating that they only received a meager amount for their content that went viral.
Addressing Content Creators' Complaints
According to TIME, a TikTok spokesperson, responding to the discontinuation of the Creator Fund, stated, that the popular social media platform is "committed to creating the best experience possible on TikTok and providing a robust ecosystem of monetization offerings to creators. Part of our efforts and ongoing commitment to provide requires us to evolve products and apply resources elsewhere to support creators best and explore new offerings."
The TikTok Creator Fund had faced criticism previously after a Forbes report revealed that TikTok was storing creators' data on servers in China, contrary to their promises to keep it in the United States.
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In response to creators' concerns and complaints about the Creator Fund, TikTok introduced the Creativity Program earlier this year. This plan aims to address some initial reservations voiced by video creators. The videos qualified for the Creativity Program need to be longer than 60 seconds and should accumulate not less than 1,000 views while adhering to the platform's decorum guidelines.
The TikTok Creativity Program is still being tested but it's available to all eligible Creator Fund beneficiaries, according to NBC News. Once switched over to this Creativity Program, content makers are automatically omitted from the former Creator Fund.
Positive Response from TikTok Users
However, 50% of TikTok viewers considered videos over a minute "stressful," and a third viewed them at double speed, as per a recent internal poll conducted by the firm, as reported by Wired.
Despite previous concerns expressed by some creators about this initiative, other content makers have shown a more optimistic response towards the Creativity Program.
Video makers with varied follower counts have reported payments ranging anywhere from several thousand dollars and skyrocketing up to nearly a jolting figure of $100K per month, indicative of a substantial raise compared to what they made through the previous Creator Fund scheme.
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