Three of TikTok’s biggest stars announced deals outside of TikTok yesterday, giving the creators another way to make money off their immense popularity on the shortform video app.
Charli D’Amelio (TikTok’s most followed creator) and Dixie D’Amelio (who rivals Will Smith in TikTok followers) announced a makeup line in partnership with Morphe, and Addison Rae (TikTok’s second most followed creator) announced a Spotify-exclusive podcast that’ll be co-hosted by her mom.
TikTok largely doesn’t offer creators a way to make money from their popularity on the app. Creators can receive tips during live streams, but live-streaming is a very small part of TikTok. The short dance videos that receive millions of views don’t make creators anything, so they have to post sponsored videos or — as we’re seeing this week — head off-platform to monetize their popularity.
These kinds of deals are newer terrain for TikTok stars, but plenty of YouTube creators and other online influencers have taken these steps before. Morphe, in particular, is known for partnering with YouTube creators. A collaboration with Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star last year was expected to bring in $35 million in sales, Morphe said at the time. Spotify has also turned shows from YouTubers into exclusive podcasts, like Mom’s Basement from FaZe Banks and Keemstar.
Unlike YouTube, TikTok doesn’t give creators a cut of the ads that run between the videos it plays. That’s a big drawback for creators, and it means they have to look to sponsorships to make money. Rae posted a video about an American Eagle partnership today; Dixie did a recent video for T-Mobile; and Charli has posted ads for Aerie and the film The High Note in recent months. Charli could be charging as much as $40,000 per sponsored post, according to a Rolling Stone report that spoke with digital marketers.
Charli, in particular, has gone off-platform in big ways before: she appeared in a star-studded Super Bowl commercial earlier this year for Sabra Hummus. A portion of the ad was also posted to her TikTok account.
