It's no secret that TikTok has been dominating the social media space for the past few years, leaving rivals to come up with new ways to try and lure creators and audiences to their platforms. A couple of years ago, Snapchat debuted Spotlight, a dedicated tab on its platform that allowed creators to submit their videos for a chance to be showcased on the front page and also earn some money. At the time, the company offered one million dollars each day for creators. Now, that sum has been decreased.

As mentioned before, Spotlight was originally rewarding creators from a one million dollar pot each day, but later reduced the frequency to millions of dollars per week, and now, Snapchat is changing things once again, rewarding creators millions of dollars over the course of a year. The company stated that although the pot is now smaller, it's able to pay more creators from around the world. Business Insider was able to speak with creators to see what kind of changes had occurred over the past couple of years, and earnings had indeed been reduced. The payments changed drastically, with one creator stating that they used to earn $15,000 for every 150,000 views, but now they were making just $15 for the same amount of views.

Social media apps rely on an audience, and in order to bring in an audience, it needs creators. For the most part, TikTok has kept things fresh, giving creators a reason to stay. As for audiences, short-form videos have been a huge hit, mainly because they are entertaining and easy to consume. As TikTok continues to dominate, competitors like Instagram and YouTube have shifted strategies, dedicating more resources to their own short-format platforms. YouTube has even gone as far as sharing ad revenue with creators, which will start in 2023. But will it be enough to take on the current king of short-form media?

Source: Business Insider