TikTok launches LIVE subscriptions to compete with Twitch and YouTube Gaming

TikTok is aiming to rival companies like Twitch and YouTube with its latest subscription model that helps its creators get more support from their fans.

TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms, even overtaking ‘Google’ in web searches last year.

While it’s often pegged as a short-form video sharing site known for spewing out viral content, it’s taking a turn and implementing a new feature that is quite similar to streaming service Twitch.

Twitch users can follow their favorite broadcasters for free… but if they want to support these streamers monetarily, they can always subscribe for a fixed fee that will allow them special privileges. Now, TikTok is joining the ranks of other video-sharing platforms with its latest subscription model.

Similar to Twitch and YouTube, TikTok is set to launch a new feature called ‘LIVE’ subscriptions, which will allow fans to subscribe to their favorite creators on a monthly basis in exchange for a certain amount of money.

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In a comparable vein to its competitors, TikTok subscriptions will offer exclusive perks for participating fans, including a subs-only chat, badges, emotes, and even the ability to control streamers’ cameras.

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While Twitch boasts varying subscription ‘tiers’ with differing benefits per tier, it’s unclear if TikTok will implement such tiers in its own subscription model.

TikTok’s LIVE subscriptions beta will kick off on May 26, and is exclusive to a handful of creators on the app. These creators can be found on TikTok’s official LIVE Creator account, which also shares information regarding this new feature.

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That’s not all; some users have claimed that the revenue from this subscription service is similar to that of Twitch, which boasts a 30-50 % revenue cut with streamers.

Additionally, TikTok has confirmed that creators must be 18 years of age and have over 1,000 followers to participate in their LIVE subscription feature.

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This news comes hot on the heels of YouTube’s recently-unveiled, money-driven subscription tool for streamers called ‘gifted memberships,’ which allows users to give memberships to certain channels to friends — an element also similar to Twitch’s gifted subs.