Twitter CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the micro-blogging platform will begin to share ad revenues for creators that these ads appear in their reply threads. However, the only users eligible to earn these rewards must be subscribed to Twitter Blue Verified.
Last week, the billionaire hinted that this feature would be released soon after replying to a tweet regarding the termination of the co-tweets feature. He said the company was also “reviewing” revenue share for ads in a creator’s tweets so they can “create an interesting thread and get paid for it!”
Musk has been seeking a way to reward creators for different types of content on the social media platform since his $44 billion takeover in October. He declared his wish for the company to surpass YouTube’s rate of paying creators 55% of total ad revenue from their videos, tweeting, “We can beat that” in November.
Twitter’s quest for monetization
Since Elon Musk acquired the microblogging site for $44 billion, the billionaire has driven the company’s team to develop new revenue streams outside its advertising division. This is especially after its revenue dropped due to activists pressuring advertisers.
To revive the company’s revenue, Elon Musk laid off over 3,700 staff, including high-ranked managers, to reduce costs. He also introduced the Twitter Blue verified program that provides the blue check mark for users willing to pay a few dollars.
Some features introduced to the paid subscription last year include the blue verification mark, longer video uploads, and priority ranking in conversation replies. the ability to edit an already-seen tweet, plus custom icons and themes.
There have been reports that Twitter was looking at incorporating a coins feature or a Web3 to facilitate the creator rewards. However, at press time, it is still unclear how the payments would be made to the creators.