TikTok recently launched a revamped “Subscription” feature for eligible creators in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Brazil, and it plans to expand further. 

The new offering allows creators to set three subscription tiers at different prices, providing subscribers with exclusive videos, live streams, and custom perks.

Simultaneously, Patreon introduced its Autopilot feature, which uses AI to identify free members likely to upgrade and offers discounts. Early testing shows a 19% increase in conversion rates.

These moves come as YouTube overhauls its TV app to help creators boost Connected TV (CTV) revenue, signaling intensifying competition in the creator monetization space.

Snap recently announced that its subscription service Snapchat+ had reached 11 million subscribers. Meta also expanded its paid verification subscription service for businesses, introducing four pricing tiers with additional tools and features in May.

Emarketer cites industry projections that indicate subscription-based earnings for U.S. creators will reach $350 million by 2025, growing at 27.4% year-over-year. This highlights the rising importance of subscriptions as a stable income source for content creators.

Other revenue streams are also seeing significant growth, with tipping and gifting increasing by 39.8% and merchandise sales by 32.6%. These outpace traditional sponsored content, which grows at 16%.

Subscriptions are particularly crucial for macro creators with over 250,000 followers, with 63% citing them as a key income channel compared to 47% for creators overall.