Twitter Cuts Creator Fees, Patreon CEO Weighs in on Apple Tax

When Facebook announced early this month that it wouldn’t take a cut of revenues from new creator-focused features like fan subscriptions for at least the next 18 months, it put pressure on other social networks to reconsider their own fees.

Twitter made its move Tuesday when it announced people can apply for Super Follows, which allow users to charge their followers for extra content, and tickets for its live audio feature Spaces. Instead of taking a 20% cut of earnings as originally planned, Twitter will now take just 3% until creators hit $50,000 in earnings from either or both products. After that, Twitter’s share will go back up to 20%. 

The move speaks to the growing competition among major social platforms for online influencers, who have increasingly more places to earn money. It could nudge other companies that operate by taking a slice of transactions generated by creators, such as Cameo, to toy with price adjustments. 

Twitter said its goal is to help creators earn money and “support emerging voices” on the platform, which is why it scaled back its revenue share cut. A spokesperson said the decision was not influenced by Facebook’s announcement.