The Tik Tok platform has announced a Live subscription, a program that allows viewers to pay to subscribe to a specific live broadcast they want to support, in order to intensify its competition with Twitch, YouTube and others.
The new program allows content creators to earn recurring earnings via payments from their biggest fans.
Similar to offerings from competing streaming sites, the new service provides subscribers with a host of perks, including subscriber-only chat, badges that distinguish them from non-subscribers, and more.
The program is officially launching in beta on May 26, initially with a select number of content creators invited to participate, according to information the platform has shared via the Live Creator page.
The news that the platform was considering moving into the subscription space for the first time was revealed in January. But the specific details were not known at the time.
Tik Tok has been teasing the program over the past week via the Live Creator page, which focuses on sharing updates targeting the community of content creators.
In addition to the usual subscriber benefits, subscribers are also able to control the cameras in the creators’ live broadcasts.
Badges are updated the longer a viewer is subscribed to give long-term subscribers more visibility, and creators can customize Live Rooms.
And a number of content creators began sharing the news of their participation in the new beta with their fans on Tik Tok and other places on social media.
While some beta testers are game broadcasters, the software is not limited to that space.
The platform appears to have invited a variety of content creators to try the subscriptions, including artists, vloggers, makeup artists, musicians, dancers, and more. Each emoji set is specifically designed to be used with subscriptions.
Tik Tok launches Live subscription program
Content creators have the option to convert their Live broadcasts to subscriber-only mode. This mode would only give paid subscribers the ability to comment, although anyone could watch.
This can help content creators get to know their best fans, and provide exclusive questions and answers for fans. In addition to reducing phishing, a subscription is required in order to post comments.
Prices have not been announced yet. But some content makers said it can be compared to Twitch pricing and revenue sharing with TikTok is the same as Twitch. Twitch subscriptions start at $4.99 per month and Twitch takes between 30% and 50% of subscription revenue.
The launch of the Live subscription comes at a time of intense competition for the talent of content creators. Social platforms offer direct payments and rewards designed to encourage content creators to publish content.
But platforms know that the most sustainable way to attract talent in the long term is to offer tools to make money.
With subscriptions, creators can benefit from recurring revenue. This revenue helps content creators continue to provide content without having to rely on unsecured income, such as bonuses, perks or brand deals.
The Chinese platform confirmed that content makers must be 18 years old and have at least 1,000 followers to access the Live subscription feature.
It also indicated that users must be over 18 years old to purchase a subscription and send or receive money and gifts.
It is noteworthy that Tik Tok is not the only platform that has recently entered the field of subscriptions. In January, Instagram launched a test of subscriptions for content creators in the United States. Twitter also tested subscriptions through its Super Follows system.