TikTok announced an ad revenue-sharing programme with the social media platform's most popular creators on Wednesday, edging closer to a model used by its competitors.
The short-video format app has grown in popularity in recent years, with over a billion active users worldwide, but it has been chastised for not allowing content creators to successfully monetize their work.
Companies can display adverts next to user content in particular areas, such as health, fashion, culinary, gaming, and others, under the new TikTok Pulse programme, and artists will get a piece.
In a statement, the company, a subsidiary of Chinese tech firm ByteDance, stated, "We will begin investigating our first advertising income split programme with creators, public personalities, and media publishers."
"We're concentrating on creating monetization solutions in existing markets so that TikTok creators feel valued and rewarded."
For the first phase of the initiative, only accounts with at least 100,000 subscribers would be eligible, according to TikTok.
Pulse will launch in the United States in June, according to Sandie Hawkins, the company's North America General Manager, and approved authors will receive a 50 percent cut of ad revenue.
According to industry newspaper Business of Apps, TikTok generated an estimated $4.6 billion (approximately Rs. 35,077 crore) in income in 2021.
According to Snapchat's data, that sum is more than quadruple the previous year's revenue, but it's still on par with competitor Snapchat, which has over 300 million daily users.
YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat, among other prominent video-focused social networks, have already introduced revenue-sharing schemes.
