TikTok is now expanding its Creativity Program, which offers direct funding to top creators based on the performance of their content in the app.
Launched with select creators in February, the Creativity Program is the next iteration of TikTok's Creator Fund, providing additional monetization opportunities for the app's top creators.
And now, everyone can join - if they meet the minimum thresholds for engagement.
According to TikTok:

“Beginning May 3, 2023, US creators with at least 10K followers and 100K authentic video views in the last 30 days are eligible to join the Creativity Program Beta. The Creativity Program Beta is in its early stages, and we’re continuously exploring ways to improve the experience for our creator community and the way creators are rewarded.”

So there are pretty stringent parameters at the moment, but it will create an alternative revenue stream for quite a number of creators in the application.

Other requirements include creators to be above 18 and the videos posted are above one minute.

If you hit all these criteria, you then possess a new method for earning income on your TikTok clips — though how much, precisely, remains unclear.

In its initial overview of the Creativity Program, TikTok described the process as not taking any ad spend away from it, instead the payouts being determined by 'qualified views and RPM'. This means that at least in this step, the actual payout figures cannot be estimated, and never may fully be disclosed unless TikTok opens up further into the workings of these calculations, for example by including such specifics in your analytics.

It's been a key criticism of its Creator Fund, which is a set pool of money that's allocated to creators based on video performance. The problem with a set amount is that as more creators meet the requirements, less funding is available overall, so even if your video performance improves, your payout amounts will decrease as others join in.

In other words, as TikTok gets more successful you earn less money, a strange kind of reverse motivation, which has led to much creator angst.

The Creativity Program hopes to address this and give more incentive, and may be a more valuable and viable way to funnel money to the app's top stars if it's a workable process.

Which TikTok absolutely needs. The app generates most of its revenue in China through in-stream commerce, which hasn't yet been a hit in the US. Without affiliate sales as a supplemental revenue stream for creators, there isn't really an equitable pathway for them to maximize their earnings based on TikTok popularity, which, eventually, will see more big creators de-prioritize the app in favor of bigger opportunities elsewhere.

That could have a big impact on usage and engagement on TikTok, which is why it needs more monetization pathways to keep creators aligned to its app.

Perhaps, this will offer a solution of sorts on this front-or perhaps it'll flame out and force TikTok back to the drawing board once again.

We will soon know, with creators able to apply to join the Creativity Program from this week.