Photo Credit: Josh Rose
Clubhouse Payments launches as a new way for creators to earn money on the platform.
Room hosts called speakers can now collect direct payments from their listeners. Clubhouse announced the new feature in a blog post, saying it’s the first of many monetization features that are on the way. The drop-in audio app is experimenting with many ways to allow creators to get paid for the content they produce on Clubhouse.
Clubhouse co-founder Paul Davison says the company wants to focus on direct artist payments – rather than attracting advertisers. That’s more similar to the model that Twitch and Patreon takes with tipping, rather than Spotify’s ad-supported method.
How Clubhouse Payments Will Work
Any Clubhouse user can send a payment in Clubhouse. Viewing the creator’s profile will tell you if they have the feature enabled or not. Tapping ‘Send Money’ will open a dialogue that allows users to enter their own amount. It’s the equivalent of a virtual tip-jar built into the app instead of Clubhouse creators relying on third-party sites like Patreon, Venmo, or Cash App.
“100% of the payment will go to the creator. The person sending the money will also be charged a small card processing fee, which will go directly to our payment processing partner, Stripe,” Clubhouse says about the new Payments feature. “Clubhouse will take nothing.”
Clubhouse partnered with Stripe to offer the 100% payment rate to its creators. Stripe CEO Patrick Collison tweeted about the partnership shortly after it was announced. “It’s cool to see a new social platform focus first on *participant* income rather than internalized monetization/advertising. Excited for the burgeoning creator economy and next era of internet business models,” writes Collison on Twitter.
The ‘next era of internet business models’ may already be upon us with the pandemic. Many artists and creators are turning to online endeavors to support themselves. Whether it’s streaming on Twitch, teaching a Master Class, or performing private online concerts, these new monetization methods are all new to the music industry.
Clubhouse Payments allowing listeners to pay its creators directly may also inspire those creators to stay with the platform.
Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram are all working on some type of Clubhouse clone. If creators have established direct revenue streams on Clubhouse by the time these clones become available – they may be hesitant to switch away to another platform. That’s perfect for Clubhouse, which is facing pressure under its $1 billion valuation.
“Giving Creators a Way to Earn Money” Creators should always be suspicious of any new Platform saying this after all the scandalous companies who provide software where all the middle men seem to make all the money and the Creators make nothing! Why would any company work to make the artists more money? Oh yes, go get all your favorite music on Youtube today!!