• by Colin Kirkland , June 7, 2023

For TikTok creators who think exclusive content will benefit their personal brand and make more money, the ByteDance-owned social-media platform has expanded its TikTok Series feature to users in 94 countries, allowing them to lock exclusive original content behind a paywall.

Series was announced in March as a long-form format -- likely in competition with YouTube -- for creators to generate revenue, letting select creators know they could upload a max of 80 videos -- each up to 20 minutes in length -- with the ability to charge anywhere from 99 cents to $189.99.

To qualify, creators can visit the Creator Center in the TikTok app. Creators must be 18 years or older, live in a select region, operate with an account that has posted at least three public videos with 1,000 views in the past 30 days, and have a history of respecting TikTok's Community Guidelines.

It also helps to have at least 10,000 followers but creators with 1,000 followers can still apply under the condition they provide TikTok with a link to premium content they have successfully sold outside the platform. 

“Series is in its early stages, and we’re continuously exploring ways to improve the experience for our creator community and the way creators are rewarded,” wrote TikTok in an updated post on Tuesday, adding that it’s looking forward to hearing user feedback.

Creator monetization alongside long-form video creation on the platform has become a key focus for TikTok this year.

In February, the company launched a revamped Creator Fund in the U.S.. which values longer video uploads and higher payouts than its predecessor which creators openly criticized for meager earning potential.

More recently, the company launched a $6 million-dollar Effect Creator Rewards fund, which aims to help creators monetize “high-performing effects” they make on the app's augmented reality (AR) development platform Effect House.