TikTok offers creators incentives to make money with longer videos

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More creators on TikTok will soon be able to earn money through subscriptions and longer-form videos, the app announced Tuesday.

The platform on Tuesday said it will expand its subscription feature, which currently enables creators to offer monthly subscriptions for livestreams only. That gives viewers subscriber badges on their profiles, as well as custom emotes, designed by the creators they subscribe to, to use in LIVE chats. Creators can also turn on subscriber-only chats in while streaming to interact only with their paid communities.

The expanded program will allow non-LIVE creators to monetize from subscriptions, as well, TikTok said in a news release. The feature will at first remain exclusive to those who are invited to try it, but eligible non-LIVE creators will be able to sign themselves up in the coming weeks.

And, to bolster the rise in long-form storytelling on the app, TikTok’s Creativity Program — introduced last year to reward creators for publishing longer videos — is scheduled to leave beta as the new Creator Rewards Program. TikTok said the program will reward “high-quality, original” videos longer than one minute, judging content based on four key areas: originality, play duration, search value and audience engagement.

Users have embraced longer-form content since the app began allowing lengthier videos in 2022, with TikTok reporting that viewers now spend more than half of their time watching such content.

“Longer videos have unleashed a wide range of possibilities for our community, providing creators with added flexibility to express themselves and embrace creative freedom without limits,” the news release said.

Total creator revenue has increased more than 250% under the beta Creativity Program in the last six months, TikTok wrote, and the number of creators making $50,000 a month has nearly doubled.

To help creators better understand their options, TikTok is also upgrading its Creator Portal, its online hub of educational resources, to a more comprehensive Creator Academy.

In the next several weeks, TikTok wrote, the new hub will begin offering informational articles, courses and videos in seven languages — covering such topics as content creation skills and monetization tools.

At Wednesday’s Creator Summit event in Los Angeles, complete with branded swag and flashy photo opportunities, more than 300 creators spent the day with TikTok’s creator-focused team.

They mingled while hearing from TikTok staff members and a panel of creators about how to strategize for longer content formats, as well as how to navigate the platform’s monetization options.

Adam Presser, TikTok’s head of operations, wrote in an open letter to TikTok creators last week that their impact on the platform has proven that “creativity is far more than entertainment or self-expression.”

“I still believe we are only beginning to realize the full potential of the TikTok platform,” he wrote. “Our future will be driven by the extraordinary contributions of creators who inspire and entertain, bring us together across generations and geographies, make us laugh and move us to tears.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com