You can’t even pay creators to X on X
Elon Musk’s X wants influencers, but doesn’t seem all that interested in paying them. Since it launched its ad-rev sharing program last July, X has paid out just $45 million to 150,000 posters. In the creator economy, those are penny slots numbers: they’re only a fraction of the $700 million MrBeast makes on YouTube every year paying people to live in a coffin for six weeks (or some likeminded stunt).
For comparison: YouTube says its Partner Program has paid out $70 billion to three million channels over the past three years. X’s $45 million spend over eight months is not going to do the trick given that (back of the napkin) YouTube is spending on the order of $1.55 billion over the same period.
So why the stinginess? Well, to share ad-rev, you need ad-rev — and that’s been a struggle for X.
Late last year, dozens of major advertisers including IBM, Apple, and Disney paused campaigns on the site after finding their ads next to antisemitic posts (including some by Musk himself). This month, Musk told Don Lemon (who was, at least temporarily, a certified X Creator™️) that ad and sub revenues are rising rapidly, although he didn’t give specific numbers.
X aside, it’s tough being an influencer. According to Goldman Sachs, only 4% of global creators pull in $100K/year.
For comparison: YouTube says its Partner Program has paid out $70 billion to three million channels over the past three years. X’s $45 million spend over eight months is not going to do the trick given that (back of the napkin) YouTube is spending on the order of $1.55 billion over the same period.
So why the stinginess? Well, to share ad-rev, you need ad-rev — and that’s been a struggle for X.
Late last year, dozens of major advertisers including IBM, Apple, and Disney paused campaigns on the site after finding their ads next to antisemitic posts (including some by Musk himself). This month, Musk told Don Lemon (who was, at least temporarily, a certified X Creator™️) that ad and sub revenues are rising rapidly, although he didn’t give specific numbers.
X aside, it’s tough being an influencer. According to Goldman Sachs, only 4% of global creators pull in $100K/year.
