TikTok Announces $200 Million Fund to Support Rising Creators

• TikTok will start funding creative creators on its short-form video platform with a $200 million fund which it announced today.
• TikTok in recent times has been battling a  combination of privacy issues and its users seeking alternative platforms for their content.
• The $200 million TikTok funding is a new move, one that has not been attempted by either Instagram or YouTube.

TikTok will start funding creative creators on its short-form video platform with a $200 million fund which it disclosed today. This comes as an unprecedented move for a social media company and one that comes after several weeks of worries about the future of TikTok.

The company, owned by China-based ByteDance, did not provide clear information about how or who would qualify for that money. It could be targeted at users from minority groups — with the press release about the fund’s launch highlighting creators like Tabitha Brown, who is popular for her family life and veganism videos.

The ongoing crisis

TikTok’s currently in a multi-front war. The Trump Administration is considering banning the app for fears it might share data with the Chinese government, and users who flocked to TikTok in the past year have been seeking alternative outlets for their content. TikTokers have shared videos in recent weeks encouraging their fans to follow them on platforms like Instagram as well, while others have switched to rival music-and-video platforms like Dubsmash and Byte to create work.

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The rush to retain TikTokers

The best way to keep for TikTok to retain its followers is by providing a clear path towards money earning. Instagram and other social media have struggled to do that, and YouTube’s ad-sharing scheme which is based on the view generated by a user’s videos — remains the easiest and straight forward means of monetization for influencers. Brands like Chipotle and E.L.F. cosmetics are now paying for sponsored content on TikTok, where influencers upload videos promoting these brands at a charge, as much as six figures for the biggest stars today. But usually, such deals are carried out between the brands and the influencers without involving the social media companies.

Why the fund matters

The $200 million TikTok funding is a new move, one that has not been attempted by either Instagram or YouTube. This will hopefully encourage more artists to thrive when they start looking for commercial work, such as the sponsored posts