TikTok has become one of the most visited social media platforms over the past few years, so much so that it has threatened the likes of giants like Facebook. One of its appeals is the endless supply of short-form videos, but it appears that some of them might be put behind a paywall.
Pay to View
Content creators have found another source of income through TikTok, and as a way for them to earn more, the short-form video platform might create a paywall to charge users in order to view certain content. This would allow creators to earn more directly through the app.
This follows the complaints of TikTok having low payout. As a solution, reports say that content creators can charge $1 or more for users to access a video. In addition to that, the platform is also revising its Creator Fund system.
One of the changes could be that content creators will have a higher follower count requirement of 100,000, as opposed to the previous 10,000 followers. However, this could result in them having a larger payout, according to Engadget.
Bigger funds could be given to those who maximize the 10-minute limit, which TikTok has recently extended. The company did mention that they are committed to creating new ways to make their service "valuable and rewarding" to creators.
This could be an important move for TikTok to incentivize creators to post more on the platform, given that its popularity during the pandemic has since died down. There are various social media platforms that also offer the kind of service that TikTok does like YouTube and Facebook.
Will People Pay for Content?
It's possible for the paywall system to be successful should it become a thing for creators. Having to pay for content is not a new concept for a lot of users. Streaming services and some platforms require payment to view certain content and they have fared well so far.
According to UScreen, 90% of Gen Z is willing to pay for online content to filter out generic content from good ones, and for this reason, content realtors may need to up their game and create videos that have more appeal than what they usually make.
Of the 26% that have been paying for subscription content, all of them said they were willing to invest in other similar services. There's also the fact that people value paid content more. It's basic logic that people will value content that they paid for more than free ones.
Users may also be willing to spend a little extra to support their favorite content creators. Some users have been known to willingly watch a full ad and avoid skipping just so the creator would earn more from the video.
Of course, there's still the issue of piracy. TikTok videos have been circulating on other social media sites, even without crediting the original poster. It will be as easy as screen recording the paid content and posting it online for others to see, so TikTok might develop something for that too.
