TikTok says it will start letting popular accounts charge subscriptions for live streams

TikTok announced on Monday that it will start letting some popular accounts for the video snippet streaming star charge subscriptions for live streams.

Similar money-making tools have been added to rivals such as Instagram and Facebook as social media platforms compete for online personalities who attract audiences.

“The LIVE subscription is an extension of our efforts to create diverse monetization opportunities for creators that meet a range of creator needs,” TikTok said in a blog post.

TikTok said the subscription feature introduced this week will only be available to invite-only creators for now, but will expand globally in the coming months. The company did not disclose pricing.

Creators will be able to switch to a subscriber-exclusive chat mode, “strengthening an even more personal connection between creator and viewer,” the company said.

To access the LIVE subscription feature, creators will need to be at least 18 years old, while users will need to be at least the same age to subscribe, TikTok said in the post.

Subscriber perks will include digital badges and, in some cases, the ability to control camera angles during streaming sessions, according to video clips posted by TikTok creators invited to participate.

TikTok earlier this month announced an ad revenue sharing program with the social media platform’s most prominent creators, coming close to a model already used by its competitors.

The short-form video app has become hugely popular in recent years with over a billion active users worldwide, but has come under fire for failing to provide creators with a way to effectively monetize content.

Under a TikTok Pulse program rolling out in the US next month, businesses can place their ads next to user content in specific categories and creators will get a discount.

“We will begin exploring our first ad revenue sharing program with creators, public figures and media publishers,” the company, a subsidiary of Chinese technology company ByteDance, said in a statement.

Other major video-focused social networks, such as YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat, have already implemented revenue-sharing systems.