Substack is spending $20 million to prosecute TikTokers

Meta and YouTube are not the only platforms Looking to take advantage It’s likely to disappear from TikTok – Substack wants in on the action, too.

On Thursday, the company announced its launch “Content Creator Acceleration Fund” valued at $20 million Promising content creators won’t lose revenue by moving to Substack. Program creators also get “strategic and business support” from Substack, and early access to new features.

“We created this fund because we’ve seen video, audio, and text creators expand their audience, revenue, and impact on Substack, where the platform’s network effects amplify the quality and impact of the work they do.” The company said in a blog post.

This pivot by Substack has been in the works for a while — for months, the company has been marketing itself not as a newsletter delivery service but your creator A platform similar to Patreon.

“On Substack, creators can build their own online home: where creators, not platform executives or advertisers, own their work and audience,” the blog post said. The post also cites “bans, backlash, and policies that change with the political winds” as a reason why content creators can’t rely on traditional social media services.

That’s all right (we’re in Edge We’ve been saying this for a while). But Substack-focused creators also ebb and flow depending on what the company prioritizes: first, it was newsletters, then it was Microblogging similar to tweetsfollowed by Complete websites and Live broadcast. For someSubstack’s initial stated mission of giving more freedom to freelance writers is fading. And TikTok creators looking to move to Substack will need to rebuild their following again – obviously, you can’t export your TikTok followers.

The $20 million fund isn’t the first time Substack has offered a pool of money aimed at attracting creators. Under a program called Substack Pro, the company poached top media talent from traditional newsrooms with higher wages, health insurance and other perks. This program ended in 2022, with Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie Saying The deals were not employment arrangements, but rather “seed financing deals to eliminate the financial risks a writer faces when starting his own business.” In other words, welcome to Substack. Now that you’re here, you’re on your own – a deal that other platforms more or less offer.