Home Substack launches $20M creator fund to help influencers transition from TikTok

Substack launches $20M creator fund to help influencers transition from TikTok

Substack just unveiled a $20 million “creator accelerator fund,” designed to support content creators looking for a fresh start. With TikTok’s future still up in the air, the company is among a number of tech firms looking to benefit from the US ban.

On Thursday (Jan. 23), the company announced in a blog post that creators would receive “ongoing strategic and business support,” as well as “early access to new features.”

The company added: “We established this fund because we’ve seen creators who specialize in video, audio, and text expand their audience, revenue, and influence on Substack, where the platform’s network effects amplify the quality and impact of the work they’re doing.”

Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie wrote on X: “It provides financial guarantees and white-glove partnerships support for creators.”

TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., is feeling the heat to either sell or shut down the platform to meet US legislation requirements. It has put creators in a tough spot, with their income hanging in the balance. Meanwhile, the whole situation opens the door for other media platforms to swoop in and snag some of TikTok’s top talent.

“The recent tumult of social platforms — facing bans, backlash and policies that change with the political winds — has highlighted the challenges creators face: They cannot rely on social media alone to build their audience or their business,” the company stated in the announcement.

How to join Substack’s Creator Accelerator Fund

Substack’s Creator Accelerator Fund is offering a sweet deal for content creators ready to make the switch. The program will cover 100% of the revenue creators were earning from their previous platform for the first year—making the move a lot easier.

But there’s a catch as participants need to shut down any subscription-based accounts on competing platforms. To qualify, creators must be US-based and already earning at least $2,000 a month in recurring revenue.

Featured image: Canva

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Suswati Basu
Tech journalist

Suswati Basu is a multilingual, award-winning editor and the founder of the intersectional literature channel, How To Be Books. She was shortlisted for the Guardian Mary Stott Prize and longlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award. With 18 years of experience in the media industry, Suswati has held significant roles such as head of audience and deputy editor for NationalWorld news, digital editor for Channel 4 News and ITV News. She has also contributed to the Guardian and received training at the BBC As an audience, trends, and SEO specialist, she has participated in panel events alongside Google. Her…

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