Twitter launched on Wednesday paid subscriptions to certain accounts, a new tool to remunerate content creators, at the heart of its strategy to expand its audience and depend less on advertising revenue.
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Influencers - makeup or sports experts, for example - will be able to offer their audience to become “super followers” (“super subscribers”), and thus receive exclusive content (advice, stories, analyzes, etc. ) by subscribing to their account for $ 3, $ 5, or $ 10 per month.
“As a super follower, you can participate in conversations that only other paying subscribers have access to,”
said Esther Crawford, a product manager for the social network, in a statement released Wednesday. In the future, Twitter will add the possibility of offering exclusive “Spaces” (audio rooms), newsletters or even anonymity for subscribers.
“And don't worry, public tweets don't go away,” she
says.
The San Francisco-based company won't take more than 3% of the proceeds, initially.
When a creator has earned more than $ 50,000, the platform's share will increase to 20% of revenues, after the commission of the mobile operating system (iOS for Apple or Android for Google).
The feature debuts in the United States and Canada, for a limited group of creators, who have an iPhone or iPad (Apple).
It must be gradually extended geographically and on the other dominant system (Android).
"Tip Jar"
Last May, Twitter unveiled its "Tip Jar", a tool to allow users to donate to their favorite accounts.
Then in June, the platform launched paid subscription offers for its users in Canada and Australia who want access to practical features.
For about $ 3.50 per month, these paying users have access to bookmarks to store their favorite tweets in categories, a more comfortable "reading" mode, and above all a "cancel" button, to view their tweet before sending. final and possibly modify it.
The Californian group is looking for ways to generate income without disrupting the fluidity of the service with more advertising.
It has over 200 million active users.