TikTok asks creators to make longer videos to earn more money

Video platform TikTok asks creators to make videos longer than a minute to be eligible for the Creativity Program, a way to earn money in the app. Until now, TikTok has distinguished itself with short videos.

To be eligible for the Creativity Program beta, creators must create videos longer than a minute in addition to a minimum number of followers and views. This deviates from previous guidelines for making money within the app and indicates that the platform wants to encourage creators to make longer videos.

The Creativity Program is the successor to the Creator Fund that TikTok has had for several years and that pays out money to creators of popular videos. Creators covered by the program will have access to, among other things, a new dashboard to better estimate videos and expected revenue than has been possible so far. With such programs, TikTok wants to increase the revenue of creators in order to make TikTok a more attractive platform to publish videos. Many creators on TikTok now earn a lot of their money on other platforms such as YouTube and Instagram.

TikTok has distinguished itself so far with short videos that can be played in quick succession. TikTok thus follows YouTube, which years ago already built in incentives to make longer videos. That was then to provide more places for advertisements, so that YouTube and the creators could make more money on the platform.