Tipping for content 💸

We've all heard of the influencers whose careers have taken off, with millions of followers and lucrative, sponsored content deals. Social media companies that host the maturing influencer industry are realizing that incentivizing both aspiring and mega-creators is good for business. Companies are creating more opportunities to monetize followers and the latest is to enable viewers, fans, and followers to tip their favorite creators, in turn delivering more content to the followers and generating more time on the platforms.

Streaming Services

• The streaming channel for gamers, Twitch, has been offering a tipping feature for years. Twitch viewers listening to the latest beats by their favorite DJ or watching their favorite gamer can show their appreciation through tips.

• Cool kids app Clubhouse has partnered with Stripe to offer it's content creators direct payments. For now, the company says it won’t be taking a cut, but at some point, the company will need to generate revenue. The question is: will it be through ads or a percentage of tips or both?

• Music streaming platform Soundcloud is preparing to offer fans the opportunity to send direct payments to musicians, while Spotify introduced this feature in August. These moves might have something to do with musicians' complaints that streaming services simply do not pay artists enough.

Major Players

• YouTube has been experimenting for years with features like “Applause,” which gives the channel $2 per click, and “Super Chat” for channels with over 1K subscribers.

• In April, users noticed the new Twitter feature “Tip Jar,” which allows users to add Venmo, CashApp & more to receive direct tips.

• Facebook and Instagram recently began offering “Stars'' virtual currency and “Badges,” respectively. Facebook says the number of content producers earning more than $10K monthly grew 88% between 2019 & 2020 and is expected to increase further in the coming years.

Subscriptions

• Content providers such as writers, artists, and educators are asking fans to make ongoing contributions through subscriptions with companies like Patreon and Memberful, which was acquired by Patreon in 2018.

The bottom line: 

Content creators are asking for a larger piece of the pie for the attention they bring to these sites. Companies are opening up channels for consumers to support them directly. The viewers, listeners, and fans are happily showing their gratitude, while social media companies make sure the content keeps flowing.