TikTok's Astonishing $2.5 Billion Payout to Creators - and Why It Could Be Even Bigger in 2024

This Week: This is the last issue of the year – so much still going on, I’m pushing 2024 trends to, well, 2024!? See you Jan 2, have a great break if you can take one and here’s what you need to know:

Surprising 2.5B TikTok Payout to Creators Revealed: ? That’s the estimate from the Data.AI folks, formerly App Annie.? They made waves last week anointing TikTok as the first non-game to drive $10B in revenue , but as study author Randy Nelson explains, it’s a bit more nuanced.? “The $10B is before the Apple/Google platform fee, so… it's really $7B for 字节跳动 .”? Take out the $3B attributed to Douyin in China, and that’s $5B net to TikTok globally (apart from India and China).? And from users buying up virtual coins - which were presumably gifted to creators, converted to “Diamonds” and cashed out.?

Double T keeps 50% along the way – thus a $2.5B TikTok-specific payout.? And since Data AI reports $4B in 2023, that’s $1B dropped into creators’ pockets.? Impressive, although surely some of those coins have yet to been bestowed.? I’ve been critical of TikTok’s inability to pay creators at scale, but this is certainly significant.

• Related: Google loses its Appstore battle with Epic . Good news for creators who now may get a bigger piece of the pie.

The Return of the Son of the Bride of the Reels Play Program:? In a blow to creators, Facebook just killed its revshare program.? It will be replaced with a new performance-based program, which sounds a lot like the Reels Play plan which was shuttered last March .? Not optimistic here, as Facebook has never really figured out how to pay creators at scale.? Even more evidence that creators are on their own in 2024 – and should view most platforms as awareness vehicles that drive to owned experiences.? Perhaps they need more diamonds in their plans?

• Related: Some creators push back on TikTok’s move to become “YouTube Lite ”.

What’s Really Trending:? Want to know what really trended in the world – and in your country?? Forget TikTok - Check out Google’s “Year in Search 2023 ”.? Among other things, I discovered that I visited one of the top 5 most searched Museums (Team Lab Planets , highly recommended), and that I inexplicably missed the “Smurf Cat ”. ? And don’t miss their awesome video recapping the most searched figures and moments in 25 years of Google Search .? Then try your hand at “The Most Searched Playground” game.? Makes me wish YouTube Rewind was still a thing.

QUIBIS: ???

YOUTUBE

• We know a lot less about creators today, as YouTube hides who’s monetizing and who isn’t – a regrettable blow for transparency from Big Red.
• YouTube’s creator liaison Rene Ritchie weighs in with his top 5 from 2023 .? Don’t miss Number 3, where Richards puts Multi-Option / Multi-Format into context.
• Why Nigerian filmmakers prefer YouTube over Netflix, Prime and Showmax.

META

• Threads starts to integrate ActivityPub , expanding cross-platform access to Mastodon and other services.
• There’s short and then there’s SHORT!? 2 second videos coming to Instagram .
• New Ray Ban Stories glasses foreshadow our deranged AI-infused future .
• Instagram users can now Instagram launches customizable ‘Add Yours’ templates , increasing collaboration between users.
• You can change your photo background too with Instagram’s new AI tool.

TIKTOK

• All good things must pass – today it’s BookTok’s turn .
• TikTok buys its way into the Indonesian ecommerce market with a $1.5B investment/partnership with GoTo’s ecommerce arm Tokopedia .
• TikTok’s Effecthouse had its first ever user conference last week.? Watch the replays and check out all the cool announcements , including AI-generated scripting, new ways for brands to get involved, and a sneak peek into a new “Visual Effects Editor” coming in 2024.? I love that DoubleT does this.??
• Sounds like TikTok produced a super-fun awards show in Australia.? I hope it comes to the US.

BRANDING AND MARKETING

• Anybody remember Honey BooBoo or JonBenét Ramsey?? Pre-teen “Baby Beauty” influencers now push products on social. What could possibly go wrong?
• Temu and Shein are driving up Google and Meta ad prices .? This SHOULD be an opportunity for creators, right?
• Related: only a bit more than a third of every programmatic ad dollar actually hits the end user target.? This SHOULD be an opportunity for creators, right?
• Related: Google starts deprecating cookies .? This SHOULD be an opportunity for creators, right??

RESEARCH

• Pew’s latest study of US teens finds that YouTube still dominates, but TikTok and Snap dominate social platform addiction, with 25% of teens using those platforms nearly constantly.? I unpack what you really need to know , with a bonus tip for TikTok on how to grow.
• Upwork’s latest study shows that 23% of all freelancers, or 14.7 million workers create content including livestreams, social videos, blogs and more.? And freelancers are more than 2 times as likely to embrace AI tools.? The study is legit.

OTHER CREATOR ECONOMY

• Netflix finally released viewership data.? Lucas Shaw from Screentime tells us what it means .
• Maryland may join Illinois with a “Right to be Forgotten ” to protect kidfluencers.
• Guess you can’t stream “artistic” au naturel on Twitch after all.
• UK PM wants to ban social media for 16 and unders .? Pre-teens are already banned, and that’s working out just fantabulously, so I hear.
• Great breakdown from Creator Economy expert Avi Gandhi on how he grew his business in 2023 .
• Mr. Beast and Chucky launch Socialblade competitor Viewstats which could compete with VidIQ and Tubebuddy down the road.
• Excited to see how Whalar 's new “Soho House meets WeWork for creators ” works out, with outposts in London, New York and LA.? I spent a day with mastermind and Whalar co-founder Neil Waller ?? at the LA construction site last summer and loved the vision!
• Enjoyed connecting with TommyInnit at Web Summit – such a smart, articulate, and talented creator.? Excited to see his US tour launched!
• If only Katzenberg had produced werewolf love-triangle shows, we might still have Quibi to kick around.???

GENERATIVE AI

• Emasculated EU AI Act passes (try saying that three times fast) – but won’t affect anything until 2025.
• What if Teddy Ruxpin, Furby and OpenAI had a baby ?? If you’re Grimes, you call it Grok.? Can we please have a Totoro or Mimikyu version?
• Congrats to former VidCon staffer Sydney Jenner , who spearheaded the first VTuber partnership with Razer . Great to see Ironmouse make history, and congrats to Sid for recently matriculating to Sega as well.
• Cool new Ai video generation platform Augie launches a “coming soon” video.
• Lego on Fortnite seems like a broadside against Roblox and Minecraft.? Plus, it’s cool!
• Limewire is back with a new AI music studio .

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