TikTok Creators' Rewards Programme Faces Drastic Pay Reductions That Are Forcing Career Exit Plans

TikTok's flagship monetization system is quietly reshaping the livelihoods of thousands of creators, and not in the way many were promised.

The platform's Creator Rewards Programme, introduced in 2024 to replace the much-criticised Creator Fund, is now facing growing backlash as creators report sharp and sudden drops in income. Across creator forums, social media threads and industry reporting, users say changes to payout calculations and algorithmic visibility have left earnings unpredictable and, in some cases, negligible.

For creators who rely on TikTok as a primary source of income, including educators, journalists and niche commentators, the shift is forcing uncomfortable questions about sustainability. While TikTok maintains that the programme offers higher earning potential for longer, original content, many participants argue that the reality no longer matches the promise, pushing some to openly consider exiting the platform altogether.

Erosion Of Payouts And Shifting Programme Structure

TikTok replaced its original Creator Fund, widely criticised for low payments, with the revamped Creator Rewards Programme in 2024, which TikTok said would deliver 'higher earnings potential' for creators who post longer, original content.

Under the new scheme, creators must meet stricter eligibility criteria: they must be at least 18 years old, have at least 10,000 followers and secure a minimum of 100,000 video views within the prior 30 days to qualify. Only videos longer than one minute count toward rewards.

TikTok's own documents emphasise factors such as originality, play duration, search value and engagement in determining payouts. A dashboard now provides creators with estimated rewards, qualified views and analytics.

Yet despite these enhancements, creator experiences suggest the reality diverges sharply from TikTok's projections.

Independent analysts note that the platform's RPM (revenue per 1,000 views) fluctuates widely by region and content type, often trailing widely used benchmarks on rival platforms. One analyst report cited rates of roughly £0.22–£0.59 ($0.30–$0.80) per 1,000 views under the Creator Rewards Programme, far lower than typical YouTube ad share rates.

Creators Report Revenue Collapse And Career Shifts

A growing number of creators have spoken publicly about tumbling payouts. A social media thread analysed by a creator community in late 2025 described long-term participants in the Creator Rewards Programme experiencing RPMs as low as £0.007 ($0.01) per 1,000 views, a level unsustainable for professional content production.

Content posted to creator forums shows some users reporting monthly revenues tumbling from around £5,853–£8,779 ($8,000–$12,000) to mere fractions of that figure within weeks. These declines have driven several creators to publicly consider quitting TikTok, with many citing earnings instability and suppressed engagement as primary factors.

TikTok's lack of transparency has frustrated creators. A WIRED report noted that some creators who left TikTok's original fund claimed a drop in views soon after enrollment, which they suspected was tied to how the algorithm treated monetised content, though TikTok has not publicly confirmed these mechanics.

Reddit threads also reveal that creators have experienced sudden account removals from the rewards programme, abrupt disqualifications of videos deemed low-quality, and opaque 'security' penalties that wipe out earnings, often without clear explanations or timely appeal mechanisms.

For some smaller news-focused creators, these platform dynamics have become untenable. High-profile news and current affairs creators, such as Dylan Page and Aaron Parnas, have publicly announced temporary withdrawals from TikTok, citing inconsistent moderation, suppressed engagement and the impact on income streams.

Moderation And Algorithm Issues Compound Earnings Stress

Monetisation woes have coincided with creators reporting erratic moderation and algorithm behaviour. A recent analysis found that even established news creators with millions of followers have experienced dramatic swings in engagement and visibility, with older videos resurfacing unpredictably and newer content suddenly facing distribution issues.

For creators who depend on consistent exposure to secure views, and thus payouts, these algorithm shifts pose a direct economic threat. TikTok's moderation and recommendation systems remain largely opaque, according to conversations with creators and independent platform analysts.

Moderation disputes also spill into monetisation: creators told WIRED that confidentiality clauses in TikTok's creator agreements restrict their ability to discuss payout metrics publicly, raising concerns about accountability and transparency.

In the shifting terrain of social-platform monetisation, uncertainty around payouts and opaque policies may not only undermine creators' immediate finances but also reshape how digital influence is defined—and where creators choose to invest their careers.

Why It Matters for the Creator Economy

The Creator Rewards Programme was meant to professionalise TikTok's creator economy. Instead, many creators now view it as a warning about over-reliance on platform-controlled monetisation.

As social platforms recalibrate their business models, the TikTok experience highlights a broader reality: digital influence alone no longer guarantees financial security. For a growing number of creators, the question is no longer how to grow on TikTok, but whether staying is worth it at all.

Originally published on IBTimes UK