Short-form video social media platform TikTok has “forgotten” to introduce lucrative monetisation programmes for African content creators.
This is resulting in significantly lower payments for local creators, while those in the US and Europe cash in on TikTok’s Creator Fund.
This is according to social media pundits and local creators, who believe African content creators are often left to fend for themselves – independently hustling for brand deals, influencer gigs and live gift rewards in order to earn a living from the billion-dollar creator economy.
This follows social media claims made by African TikTok content creators, alleging they are underpaid by the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform, compared to those in the rest of the world.
Dominic Zaca, a South African content creator who has 1.2 million TikTok followers, says its remuneration model is biased and unfair. When compared to other social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter,for instance, creators have better opportunities to make money based on the views accumulated on each published post.
“African creators are not paid at all by TikTok. We don’t receive any form of remuneration for anything that we contribute on the platform. Unlike other platforms, we don’t get paid for any views, interactions or likes; neither are we compensated for any audio/music that may be used that we may have originally created. So, it’s not even a conversation of us being paid fairly – we are not being paid at all.
“The only source of remuneration that we get on TikTok is by doing a TikTok live, which means you go live with your audience and they come in and they send you gifts and those gifts have monetary value that is calculated at the end of the live stream,” Zaca explains.
TikTok takes a large portion of the gifts, and streamers get the lower percentage of whatever is being sent to them by their audience/followers, Zaca adds.
“Africa has been at the forefront of the content creation trend and then we see countries which are monetised use our content or mimic our content and get paid for it. Despite the African content creator who originated the sound or the dance move being known to the platform, they get no incentives if they are African inventors. There is no form of compensation directly from the app like in other countries."
When local creators file a report via TikTok for copyright infringement, there is no response to complaints, while their Western counterparts have proper procedures and channels to follow for copyright infringement claims, Zaca states.
Arthur Goldstuck, ICT commentator and CEO of World Wide Worx, tells ITWeb that Africa is brimming with creativity, and TikTok has given local creators a global stage. However, turning that opportunity into a paying gig is often easier said than done.
Goldstuck believes African creators deserve the same direct monetisation options as their Western counterparts, instead of relying on a “digital tip jar”.
“While creators in the US and Europe cash in on direct monetisation from TikTok’s Creator Fund, African content makers are left hustling for brand deals, influencer gigs and live gifts – because, for some reason, platforms keep ‘forgetting’ to roll out proper monetisation here.
“One can be charitable and say it takes time to add new territories. But even when brands do come knocking, they often expect creators to work for ‘exposure’ rather than real money.”
Those African creators that make it work are not just depending on TikTok; they’re diversifying their income streams, tapping into international audiences and turning their platforms into personal brands, Goldstuck continues.
“African governments could play a huge role in making sure African creators aren’t shortchanged by global platforms, but that’s not exactly at the top of their to-do list. While places like the EU and Australia are forcing tech giants to share revenue fairly, most African governments are too focused on regulating content rather than empowering creators.”
Responding to ITWeb’s questions on these allegations, a TikTok spokesperson comments: “TikTok is committed to exploring ways to reward creators for their creativity and hard work. Currently, creators in Sub-Saharan Africa can earn through various features we have, such as live gifts, video gifts, subscription and Work with Artists; but we continue to look for new ways to enhance our global offerings and will continue to do so as we learn from the feedback we get from our creator community.”
Kenyan TikTok content creator Roy Kanyi, who has over 349 000 followers on TikTok, points to the disparities in earnings for African content creators compared to their counterparts in regions like the US and Europe.
Kanyi reveals he makes $1 547 a month through working with multiple brands on brand partnerships/sponsored content, live gifting and collaborations with artists/businesses.
“This isn't necessarily about TikTok directly paying less for the same content. The primary difference lies in several factors, including platform monetisation, brand partnerships, audience demographics and payment infrastructure.
“Brands often have larger budgets for influencer marketing in developed markets, while African creators may struggle to attract the same level of brand sponsorship due to factors like market size, perceived audience value and currency exchange rates.
“Advertisers often target specific demographics. If a creator's audience in Africa is perceived as having lower purchasing power, brands may be less willing to invest heavily in collaborations,” comments Kanyi.
According to Forbes, the top 10 most successful content creators in 2024 earned $20 million to $85 million during the year. None of these are from Africa.
Data from CoherentMI shows the Africa creator economy market was valued at $3.08 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $17.84 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 28.5% from 2023 to 2030.
Social media lawyer Lerato Ntwampe points out that a bias in TikTok’s algorithm is limiting African content creators’ access to global recognition and world markets.
“Smaller budgets allocated by brand agencies or brands for African content creators and weaker currencies in different African regions all have an impact on income. Other factors, such as influence and buying power, play a role in how these marketers and advertisers invest in content creators abroad compared to African countries.”
According to Ntwampe, another factor to consider in Africa, particularly in SA, is the kind of content South Africans consume on TikTok.
The majority of users in the South African market produce content that is for entertainment, educational or current affairs purposes, which doesn’t necessary attract advertisers as much as they do internationally, she explains.
“Content creators in some Western countries are in a better position because of their access to the TikTok programme, a bigger market for brand partnerships, higher advertising rates and stronger currencies.”
For example, she points outs that a content creator in the US can have a reach of 170 million, providing access to a bigger audience, a bigger market share and a culture of consumerism. This encourages users to buy, compared to a South African content creator that can have a reach of 17 million users with high unemployment rates, which decreases the buying power and offers a smaller market share in advertisers.
South African sports, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie recently addressed local content creators’ concerns by calling on African leaders to have more conversations about the issue.
“The biggest thing for me is the fact that you cannot have African children be treated like stepchildren when it comes to issues of content; we can’t allow that, we can’t be scared. We talk about issues affecting our people. That is why I raised that uncomfortable issue, to say our children must be paid like other content producers.”
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