The Radical Egalitarianism of TikTok's Creator Fund Matters

That’s not how it works right now. Spotify pays per stream, whether you’re listening or not. YouTube Premium pays per minute of watch time whether you like it or not. TikTok’s creator fund is distributed based on “engagement” (whatever that is.) And all of this is fine. But why not set aside a portion of this money and give it to the audience for t... See more

TikTok’s algorithm treats each video more or less independently to assess its viral potential, caring relatively little about how many followers the creator has. This would be a trivial algorithm change for its competitors. What’s stopping them? Only the fact that their top creators, who collectively determine the platform’s fate, would rebel,

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There’s another group of platforms out there that don’t just disperse retail, but disperse creativity. Etsy — a pandemic winner whose prosperity is nothing short of inspiring — enables artisans to reach a global audience. YouTube made video stars out of millions, and now TikTok is leapfrogging YouTube in the mobile space. Substack, Patreon, and Onl... See more