TikTok is starting to give its creators a cut of the ad revenue at the expense of its users

TikTok has announced a “new contextual advertising solution” that will finally give creators a cut of the ad revenue being raked in.

Announced in a new blog post, the newfangled contextual advertising solution is given the flashy name of TikTok Pulse, and while it does mercifully give creators a cut of the ad revenue that the social media giant seems to be raking in, it might not be good news for the app’s users. 

This is because TikTok Pulse allows advertisers to place their brands next to top content in the app’s For You feed, forcing them to become part of the “everyday moments and trends that engage the community,” regardless of whether users want it or not. 

Brands already hold a prominent place within TikTok’s user first landscape thanks to promoted posts and plenty of hashtag challenges, however, this seemingly isn’t enough to satisfy corporate interests as TikTok Pulse will now be placing brands “at the heart of TikTok communities and alongside the trending content that is driving conversation and action.”

According to the new blog post all about Pulse, this new advertising scheme will put brands “exactly where they need to be,” on the app, which is apparently among the top 4% of all videos on the platform, so expect to see a lot of this new integrated advertising going around.

Thankfully, if you’re not the owner of a multimillion-dollar brand looking to advertise on TikTok, there is still some good news coming out of this new initiative, as creators, public figures, and media publishers are finally getting a cut of the revenue being generated through Pulse. 

In a brief statement shared with The Verge, TikTok confirmed that the revenue split will be 50-50 between itself and its creators, which is a generous move, even if the social media giant is hijacking their content. In its initial stages, this revenue split will only be available to creators and publishers with at least one hundred thousand followers.