TikTok might be one of the biggest video platforms out there right now, but its creators have often lamented the low payout the company provides to them compared to the likes of YouTube. Perhaps as a way of testing out a new format and to satisfy demands for better monetisation solutions on TikTok, the company has now announced a new feature for the platform: TikTok Series.
In a post on the TikTok blog, the video platform calls TikTok Series a new way for creators to share their stories, talents and creativity in the form of ‘premium content’, while building a deeper relationship with their community on TikTok. Essentially, TikTok Series is a paywalled service that allows creators to post a collection of ‘premium content’ which viewers will then need to pay to unlock. Each Series can include up to 80 videos (hence the name Series), with each video up to 20 minutes long, a big contrast to the usual short form video format that made TikTok so popular in the first place.
According to TikTok, each creator that produces a Series will be able to price their paywall as they see fit. Viewers meanwhile will be able to access them via direct in-video links or by buying them from the creator’s TikTok profile. TikTok claims that Series will give viewers another way to support the creators they follow.
There are some conditions though that any TikTok creator wanting to use Series will need to abide to. For instance, as with all content on TikTok, content on Series must still abide by the platform’s Community Guidelines, which prohibits things like nudity, dangerous acts, hateful behaviour, and more.
If you’re a TikTok creator who wants to sign up for the paywall service, you will need to wait just a while longer though as it’s still only limited to a few select users for now. TikTok says that they will be opening up applications for creators to sign up for Series though in the coming months while they learn more about community feedback with Series in the meantime. Creators without access to Series though will still be able to use the platform’s other monetisation methods, such as the new Creativity Program Beta on the TikTok Creator Portal.
