TikTok’s New ‘Creativity Program’ Replaces Creator Fund

The financial empowerment program for TikTok creators, known as the Creator Fund, is ending. TikTok kicked off its Creator Fund in 2020 to give content makers a way to earn money from their videos. It started with $200 million USD, but it's grown massively over the last three years, and now has over $2 billion USD from which creators got paid.

Now, TikTok has announced its plan to discontinue the Creator Fund in favor of a new initiative named the Creativity Program. In a news release, TikTok provided details about the rules and regulations governing the Creativity Program.

The program will replace the existing Fund starting on December 16 in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Eligible creators will have the opportunity to transition to the beta version of the Program but will not be allowed to revert back to the Fund once they opt in.

While the Program is expected to offer higher payouts per view than the Fund, it also raises the bar for entry. Just as the Fund required creators to have a minimum of 10,000 followers, this standard will be carried over to the Creativity Program.

Additionally, creators must have accumulated at least 100,000 video views in the past 30 days and regularly post videos that are at least one minute long. The revenue will be calculated per 1,000 views, taking into account view engagement and the authenticity of the viewing account.

To kickstart the Creativity Program, TikTok is launching it with an initial fund of $200 million USD. During the beta phase, participation will be by invitation only.

It's worth noting that earlier this year, the platform introduced a new monetization program that promised higher payouts to creators. Unlike the original program, this new one requires creators to produce longer-form content, with earnings calculated based on engagement metrics.

"Designed to help creators foster their creativity, generate higher revenue potential and unlock more exciting, real-world opportunities, the Creativity Program Beta is the latest addition to our range of monetization tools that support creators of all levels in being rewarded," TikTok wrote in a statement announcing the program earlier this year.

"We developed the Creativity Program based on learnings and feedback from our creators on our creator solutions, including the TikTok Creator Fund. The Creativity Program Beta will initially be available to creators by invite-only and then become available to all eligible US creators in the coming months."