Twitter rolls out new monetization feature
Twitter officially launched its Subscriptions feature on Friday, challenging rival Substack by offering content creators the ability to earn a monthly income. Participating users can feed their subscribers extra tweets separate from their main account and set up exclusive spaces for interacting with their followers.
In a post explaining the feature, Twitter suggests users offer subscribers a look at their “unscripted thoughts,” solicit “ideas and opinions,” and “give personal replies only your subscribers can see.” Only those who are subscribed to the account can interact with its premium tweets.
The platform unveiled the new feature for almost all users on Friday, excepting those in Russia, China, Syria, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela. Users must be 18 or older with a properly-completed profile and verified email address, as well as 500 or more active followers and at least 25 posted tweets in the last 30 days.
The site’s eligibility policy redirects to a stricter set of beta requirements that exclude all “state-affiliated media” accounts and any that have historically violated Twitter’s user agreement and content monetization rules. The subscription agreement requires the user to confirm that nothing in their account is “misleading or deceptive” and any “opinions, findings or experiences” shared in the account are “honest and accurate.”
While it is not explained who will be responsible for determining the truthfulness of Subscriptions content, Twitter Files disclosures confirmed that US government agencies previously were able to order the suppression of so-called “disinformation” on the platform even if the tweets in question were objectively true, promoting their own favorable narratives instead.
CEO Elon Musk first teased the feature earlier this month in a thread promising the social media behemoth would allow users to keep all the money earned through Subscriptions for the next 12 months and even help promote Subscription content. At the conclusion of that 12 months, he said, user payouts would fall to 15%, though Twitter will subsidize popular accounts based on volume.
Twitter was recently absorbed into the ominously-named X Corp., a project Musk has described as an “everything app” similar to China’s WeChat that will allow users to do financial transactions, shop online, book medical appointments, travel, and otherwise engage in all forms of commerce. The billionaire has also partnered with stock trading platform eToro to move toward this goal.
