TikTok has announced a £54 million fund to pay European creators on the platform for their content.
In a blog post, Rich Waterworth, general manager of TikTok Europe said the fund aims to “give talented individuals the opportunity to turn their creativity into a career” and aims to “further nurture and promote creative talent.”
The new European fund will start initially with $70 million (approx. £54 million) in the first year. It then expected to rise to a total of around $300 million (approx. £231 million) within three years.
The platform launched a similar fund of $200 million in the US, with the intention to grow the fund to $1 billion in three years. Previously, users could only monetise via live streams or brand partnerships and sponsorship deals. The new fund will pay creators directly for producing video content on the platform for the first time.
To be eligible for the new EU fund, users must be 18 years or older, have a certain number of followers and be posting original content that follows TikTok rules.
The move comes at a time when Facebook-owned Instagram is rolling out similar features to rival TikTok in the short-form video space. Instagram recently launched Reels in Brazil, France and Germany. Reels allow users to create music videos for up to 15-seconds. Similarly to TikTok, users can edit the videos with various TikTok-like effects and add sounds and music. If it is a success, Instagram will likely roll this out globally.
Facebook is reportedly offering TikTok creators money to lure them to the platform.
