Snap says it paid $250M to creators through Spotlight in 2021

Snap revealed that it paid more than $250 million to over 12,000 creators through its Spotlight programs in 2021. Snap’s TikTok–clone in-app feature Spotlight was launched in November last year, with the promise to give away $1 million a day to video creators who produce viral content. 

Snap said Spotlight creators worldwide are posting content three times more often than when the feature became available in November last year.

“We have been awed by the positivity of our community. Their talents, passions and unique perspectives are showcased on Spotlight every day, and it’s been exciting to see Snapchatters’ imaginations run wild while using Creative Tools. In fact, over 65% of Spotlight submissions use one of Snapchat’s Creative Tools or an augmented reality Lens.” Snap said in a blog post. 

TikTok has become one of the fastest apps to reach 1 billion monthly active users, while competitors like Snapchat Spotlight, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts have sprung up creator funds to encourage people to produce content exclusively for their platform. 

YouTube announced in May a $100 million Youtube Shorts Fund for content creators to be distributed over the course of 2021-2022. Meta (formerly Facebook) also announced in July that it will start new programs to invest more than $1 billion to reward creators on Facebook and Instagram through 2022. 

“In the year ahead, we’ll continue to offer a range of opportunities to meet the needs of creators as they entertain our community while growing their brand. And for our community, we’ll continue to make it even easier to follow and view content from your favorite creators – whether that be on Spotlight, Stories or Discover. Today, over 25 Spotlight creators are also syndicating their show on Discover, with more to launch in the coming months.” Snap added.