TikTok’s giving more creators the opportunity to make money in the app, with an expansion of its ‘Series’ subscription option, which enables creators to paywall certain content.
@tiktoknewsroom Introducing TikTok Series ???? Our new premium feature enables creators to post Collections of up to 80 videos, each up to 20 minutes long ????
♬ original sound - TikTok Newsroom
As you can see in this video, Series enables eligible creators to share collections of content behind a paywall, with creators able to include up to 80 videos in each Series set (each up to 20 minutes long), essentially facilitating long-form content subscriptions within the app.
Creators can charge anywhere between $1 to $190 for their Series subscriptions.
Initially, Series was only available to selected creators, but now, TikTok has set more specific parameters around who can sign up, with all creators over the age of 18, who have over 10,000 followers, able to activate the program (pending regional availability).
As per TikTok:
“Beginning June 6, 2023, creators in select regions who are 18 years or older, have an account that is at least 30 days old with at least 10K followers, have posted more than three public videos in the last 30 days, and have at least 1K authentic video views in the last 30 days, are eligible to join Series. Creators with less than 10K followers but meet the above requirements can apply by providing a link to premium content they've previously sold on other platforms via the Creator Center in the TikTok app.”
TikTok’s still working to develop effective monetization models for its top stars, which it needs to do to keep them posting to its app. YouTube and IG offer better monetization potential, and while TikTok is the platform of the moment, the concern is that if TikTok can’t keep its top creators happy, they’ll eventually drift off to other platforms instead, taking their large audiences with them.
In some respects, it seems like the big platforms should be looking to lock up their top creators with exclusive content deals, but at the same time, giving creators more freedom to monetize in different formats, expanding their earnings and audience potential, while also fueling the content streams in each app.
Maybe, exclusive deals would be too restrictive, which then means that each app is competing on the merits of its own monetization offering, which could fuel better, more lucrative income streams for stars.
Either way, right now, each app is working to sweeten its respective monetization model, and TikTok, in particular, still needs to establish better revenue share options to keep top creators happy.
Series could be a big step on this front, by enabling creators to share (and re-share) long-form content in the app. That’ll give creators more ways to maximize audience reach, and more options to make money from their content.
It’s another element in TikTok’s approach, which should help to improve its creator appeal.
You can learn more about TikTok’s Series here.
