TikTok music money, an influencer council, and how much YouTubers with 1 million subscribers earn
Hi, and welcome back to Influencer Dashboard. This is Amanda Perelli and I'll be briefing you on what's new in the influencer and creator economy.
This week, my colleague Dan Whateley spoke with TikTok creators, talent managers, and music marketers to understand how much influencers can earn by promoting songs on the app.
The starting rate for a song integration is in the low hundreds of dollars but can go well above $5,000 for a single post, according to industry insiders.
"I have heard of song promotions anywhere between $250 to $1,000 for accounts at or below my size and engagement rate," TikTok creator Alex Stemplewski (8 million followers) said. "Obviously the Charlis and Addisons can earn significantly more."
For TikTok influencers, promoting songs can be a reliable (and quick) way to earn extra income from the app.
Ariell Nicholas Yahid, a talent manager at the TikTok-focused talent-management upstart the Fuel Injector, said his company facilitates four to five paid song integrations a week for the company's TikTok creators.
Read more about how TikTok has become a major promotional tool for the music industry, here.
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The founder of The American Influencer Council explains what industry changes she's pushing for
Influencers now have their own trade organization to lobby on their behalf and educate digital creators on the business: The American Influencer Council.
My colleague Sydney Bradley spoke with the founder of the AIC to learn more about what its early efforts and membership will look like.
The AIC plans to advocate on behalf of influencers for industry reform, such as lobbying the Federal Trade Commission for more transparency and clearer standards for sponsored content.
It wants more explicit and accessible guidelines for creators on how to disclose their paid or sponsored content, such as when and where to use the hashtags #AD or #SponsoredContent, and whether influencers should disclose gifts with #freeproduct when they endorse gifted products.
Read more on the organization and why sponsorship standardization is a top priority, here.
A veteran talent agent says TikTok is the next frontier for gamer houses and esports teams
Last week, talent agent Amber Howard left A3 Artists Agency (formerly Abrams Artists Agency) to take on a new position as the new head of talent at TalentX Gaming, a joint venture between the esports company ReKTGlobal and the TikTok-focused talent-management company TalentX
Dan spoke with Howard on the move and her plan to recruit diverse gamers to the TalentX roster.
"We as talent managers need to go out and find and really look for those underrepresented talent," she said. "I think we all collectively have to do our parts to make sure that we are reaching out across the aisles and making sure that we are elevating other people in the space."
Howard is bringing an existing roster of diverse clients to TalentX Gaming, including P2istheName, Natalie "ZombiUnicorn" Casanova, Mari "AtomicMari" Takahashi, and Soleil "Ewok" Wheeler, a 14-year-old gamer who is deaf and plays "Fortnite" for the esports organization FaZe Clan.
Read more on why she's betting her career on TikTok talent, here.
How much money a YouTuber with 1 million subscribers earns
Breaking the 1 million subscriber mark often means a
YouTube creators who are part of the platform's Partner Program can monetize their videos starting at 1,000 subscribers (if they meet other requirements).
Over the past few months, I've spoken with dozens of YouTube creators about how much each of them earned from the platform. Five of the YouTube creators I spoke with had between 1 million and 2 million subscribers and they opened up about various financial topics.
Kevin David (1 million subscribers) earned about $400,000 in Google AdSense in 2019.
Marina Mogilko (1.2 million subscribers on her lifestyle channel) said one of her videos with 1.5 million views had made $10,000 in AdSense revenue.
Shelby Church (1.5 million subscribers) earned $140,000 in 2019 from YouTube.
Read more on how much they earn, here.
What else happened on BI this week:
A new app lets YouTubers get paid early: Dan wrote that the influencer-tech company ChannelMeter is launching a cash payment app for YouTubers with the goal of eventually selling banking and other financial service products to creators.
Ask an influencer:
Submit your questions about the industry or for creators to aperelli@businessinsider.com. We'll answer your questions in an upcoming issue of Influencer Dashboard. Stay tuned!
Top 5 trending digital creators this week:
We used data collected from Famous Birthdays to track 5 trending web stars this week. Check them out:
Saiko, YouTuber: He's a Brazilian gamer with 2.9 million subscribers.
Mariamstar1, TikToker: She has 2.6 million followers and posts lip sync and comedy videos.
Devin Caherly, TikToker: He has 2.4 million followers and is known for dueting videos with creator Tati.
James Wright, TikToker: He is a member of the Hype House and has 2.2 million followers.
Sydney Serena, YouTuber: She is a beauty and fashion creator with 2 million subscribers.
Industry updates:
TikTok star Boman Martinez-Reid signs with the talent agency CAA.
Beauty vlogger Shayla Mitchell (MakeupShayla) signs with the talent agency UTA.
Starting in late July, YouTube videos longer than 8 minutes will be able to earn money with mid-roll ads.
Far Out Toys and pocket.watch are rolling out more toys and games with the YouTube channels Ryan's World and Love, Diana.
This week from Insider's digital culture team:
Chase Hudson and Charli D'Amelio's public feud: Hanna Lustig broke down the falling-out between TikTok's biggest stars, which led to some unfollowing each other and subtweets in support of D'Amelio.
Killer Merch restocked Shane Dawson's hoodies: Kat Tenbarge wrote about how the owner still hasn't acknowledged the drama between Dawson and Jeffree Star.
Will Jeffree Star actually be canceled: Lindsay Dodgson wrote about how some celebrities, like Star, seem to shrug off criticism.
Racism has a longstanding presence in the cosplay community: Rachel Greenspan and Palmer Haasch spoke with Shirleen, a 22-year-old model who received racist criticism for her anime cosplay but said it won't stop her from doing what she loves.
Here's what else we're reading:
Meet Tati and Devin, two rising stars on TikTok: Taylor Lorenz from The New York Times wrote about how many TikTok users have become obsessed with duet videos from the pair.
TikTok opens "self-serve" platform to lure small businesses: Megan Graham from CNBC wrote that TikTok is also giving $100 million in
advertising credits to small businesses.Influencer marketing is riddled with racism: Alexa Tietjen from WWD wrote that Black influencers on marketing platforms say they are paid less than white peers and are sometimes unable to negotiate on offers and terms.
MrBeast's "Finger on the App" competition lasted 70 hours: Siobhan Neela-Stock from Mashable wrote that Jimmy Donaldson congratulated the last four people remaining and announced they would all receive $25,000.
Thanks for reading! Send me your tips, comments, or questions: aperelli@businessinsider.com.
