One popular mobile app is TikTok. TikTok is a “social media app that allows users to create, watch, and share videos shot on mobile devices or webcams.”(D’Souza, 2023). Commonly with young people, TikTok is used as a place to get information. However, it’s recommended to take some of that information with a grain of salt. TikTok is targeted to young adults and about 40% of users are between the ages 18 and 24 (D’Souza, 2023). Although TikTok is a owned by a Chinese technology firm, it’s main demographic is from the United States.
TikTok creators generate revenue through the creator fund. The creator fund gives creators an opportunity to earn money from their content. Anyone can’t just apply for the creator fund, TikTok creators have to meet a certain criteria. In order to qualify a creator must be based in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain or Italy, be at least 18, have at least 10,000 followers, have at least 100,000 videos vies in the last 30 days, and have an account that follows TikTok community guidelines and terms of service (TikTok, 2021). The amount of money creators can make are determined by views and engagement. Their is no set amount that creators will make and because engagement fluctuates, so will the funds earned. In order to get the most out of TikTok, new users should follow hastags that interest them. If a creator is trying to get the most out of TikTok they should use hashtags, use trending sounds, and post consistently.
Another popular mobile app is Spotify. Spotify is “a digital music, podcast, and video service that gives you access to millions of songs and other content from creators all over the world.”(Spotify, n.d.). Spotify gives you the opportunity to discover new music, podcasts, and audiobooks. Spotify is targeted to anyone who enjoys music, hardcore music enthusiasts and casual listeners. However, Spotify’s main audience is between the ages of 18 and 24. And, most likely because of Spotify’s Family discount plan, 63% of Spotify’s total visitors in January, 2023, were families of 3 or more (Larkin, 2023).
Spotify has two types of royalties artist can earn, Recording royalties and Publishing royalties. Recording royalties is “the money that’s owed to rightsholders for recording streamed on Spotify, which is paid to artists through the licensor that delivered the music.”(Spotify for artists, n.d.). Publishing royalties is “The money owed to songwriters or owners of a composition.” (Spotify for artists, n.d.). Spotify pays rightsholders a net revenue from what’s made from streaming, advertising, and premium members. However, when it comes to pays per stream, Spotify only pays artists “$0.003-$0.005 per single stream.”(Mucenieks, 2023.). Some cool things you can do with Spotify is blend playlist with friends, host a group session (allows people to listen to music together), filter liked songs and so much more.
References:
D’Sousa, Deborah. (2023). TikTok: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It’s Popular. Investopidia. https://www.investopedia.com/what-is-tiktok-4588933
Tiktok.(2021). TikTok Creator Fund: Your questions answered. Tiktok. https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/tiktok-creator-fund-your-questions-answered
Spotify. (n.d). What is Spotify? Spotify. https://support.spotify.com/us/article/what-is-spotify/
Larkin, Sarah. (2023).Who is today’s Spotify Consumer? Comscore. https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Blog/Who-is-today-s-Spotify-Consumer#:~:text=Who%20is%20the%20Spotify%20Consumer,visit%20Spotify%20in%20January%202023.
Spotify for artists.(n.d). Royalties. https://support.spotify.com/us/artists/article/royalties/
Mucenieks, Andris. (2023). How Do Artists Make Money on Spotify: Full Guide (2023). Printify. https://printify.com/blog/how-do-artists-make-money-on-spotify/#:~:text=According%20to%20Spotify%2C%20its%20music,commissions%20from%20the%20total%20earnings.