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Three of the top stars of TikTok have signed off-platform deals
Three of TikTok's biggest stars revealed deals outside of TikTok yesterday, offering the makers a new way to make money out of their massive success on the short-form video platform.
Charli D'Amelio (TikTok's most-followed creator) and Dixie D'Amelio (who competes with Will Smith in TikTok followers) launched a beauty collection in collaboration with Morphe, and Addison Rae (TikTok 's second-most-followed creator) revealed a Spotify-exclusive podcast that will be co-hosted by her mother.
TikTok doesn't give developers a way to make money out of their app fame. Creators may provide feedback on live streams, but live streaming is a very limited feature of TikTok. Fast dance videos that get millions of views don't give the makers much, and they have to upload funded videos or — as we're doing this week — go off-platform to monetize their success.
Such kinds of offers are newer territory for TikTok Stars, but a lot of YouTube producers and other media influencers have already taken such moves. Morphe is renowned, in particular, for working with YouTube artists. The partnership with Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star last year was projected to carry $35 million in sales, Morphe said at the time. Spotify has also converted YouTuber shows into exclusive podcasts, such as Mom's Basement from FaZe Banks and Keemstar.
Unlike YouTube, TikTok doesn't send producers a snapshot of the advertisements that appear between the videos that it plays. That's a big downside for the makers, and that means they 're going to have to look for sponsorships to make money.
Rae has shared a report on the American Eagle deal today; Dixie has made a new commercial on T-Mobile; and Charli has run advertisements on Aerie and The High Note in recent months. Charli could charge as much as $40,000 per endorsed post, according to a Rolling Stone survey with digital marketers.
Charli, in fact, has gone off-platform in fantastic ways before: she starred in a star-studded Super Bowl advert earlier this year for Sabra Hummus. A part of the ad has also been uploaded to her TikTok page.
