The concern that it is hard to make money off social media live streams might be over as social media giant, Facebook has unveiled monetization plans for users on both its Facebook and Instagram livestreaming.
On Facebook, the company plans to allow users to charge for their live streams, presenting musicians and other content creators a way of monetizing their performances and events.
“To support creators and small businesses, we plan to add the ability for Pages to charge for access to events with Live videos on Facebook – anything from online performances to classes to professional conferences.”
Facebook.
There’s no set date for the rollout of the feature though, and Facebook is also yet to detail the payment structure for the live streams. As such it is unclear if the platform will charge users a fee, or if content creators will be charged a percentage for using the feature.
Also, the platform will be rolling out its “Stars” tipping system for musicians, allowing them to receive tips ($0.01 per Star) when a fan awards them a star.
Also, the platform has now rolled out a donate button to live videos of non-profit organisations on the platform.
For Instagram, the company is also rolling out a new way for users to fundraise for non-profits via its Live feature. Although there are already Donation Stickers in the Stories, the new Donations feature on IG Live allows Live users to be able to create fundraisers for over a million nonprofits.
The company revealed that it would not receive anything from the funds raised. The entire money raised goes directly to the non-profit – just the way it is on some other fundraising platforms. Users will be required to select the Fundraiser option when starting the Live videos, after which they can select the fundraiser they want to support.
Live streamers will also be able to see the number of people who have donated to the cause and the amount donated. They can also give individual shoutouts or wave to the donors in-app.
Some concerts have already raised funds for COVID-19 relief like Post Malone’s Nirvana tribute, which raised more than $2million, and the ‘One World: Together At Home’ concert by Lady Gaga, which raised almost $128million.
All these new features are coming now as people are encouraged to stay indoors, avoid social gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Social media usage has spiked in recent times and as a means of keeping up with fans, live-streamed concerts have become the new in-thing. The live stream concerts are not only restricted to musicians but also other users and businesses organising events.
And because of their huge user base and livestreaming options, Facebook and Instagram have been huge beneficiaries in the increasing video streaming interest.
And because of the freemium nature of most of these platforms, there has been no formal way of monetising live videos. Some, however, have had to explore the advert route but these new features on Facebook and Instagram livestreaming might change the game.
With nobody certain when life would return back to normal and people once again allowed to attend physical events and concerts, these provide an avenue for creators to still make money while exploring livestreaming. Also, this is most likely to keep up the pace of livestreaming on even post-COVID 19.
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