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Some American YouTubers are concerned about a looming TikTok ban and are looking to other platforms

Posted on by Taylor Reeves
Some American YouTubers are concerned about a looming TikTok ban and are looking to other platforms

The clock is ticking for American YouTubers who say they are both nervous and frustrated as they prepare for a possible nationwide ban on TikTok next month.

A bipartisan bill signed by President Joe Biden this year requires TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform to an American company or face a ban – set to take effect on January 19, a day earlier the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. The Supreme Court said it would hear TikTok’s appeal on January 10.

“So many people have connected, built communities and built people’s livelihoods using TikTok,” said Jenn Ficarra, a Los Angeles-based author who used TikTok to start a baby naming consulting business as a side hustle. “I am truly dismayed, upset and angry that so many people are having something vital to their livelihoods taken away from them.”

Lawmakers pushing for a ban argue that TikTok’s Chinese owner poses a threat to the national security of the United States. But for many For American creatives who rely on it as their primary source of income, a loss would mean having to look for new ways to sustain their careers and rebuild their personal brands.

In recent weeks, hundreds of TikTok users like Ficcarra have lamented the looming ban and posted videos showing their fear, anger and sadness as they prepare to lose access to it.

“There are sacrifices that have to be made, and that of course worries me about day-to-day things, like groceries, rent and all those things,” said Jonathan Miller, a songwriter and music commentator who has been a full-time music creator since 2010.

Creators like Miller — who have followers on TikTok but aren’t necessarily household names — are hoping to move to other platforms to make up for the revenue they’ll lose from the possible end of their TikTok careers.

In a lawsuit this month, TikTok claimed that U.S. small businesses and social media creators would lose $1.3 billion in profits within a month of a shutdown.

According to a recent report from Influencer Marketing Hub, TikTok is the most used platform by brands doing influencer marketing. It also found that 50% of influencer marketers believe TikTok provides the best return on investment for short-form video content. It has become a giant in the evolving creator economy, which includes millions of social media personalities who make money through brand deals, platform monetization and viewer subscriptions. Research from Goldman Sachs last year predicted that the creator economy’s total market opportunity could reach $480 billion by 2027.

Cole Mason, co-founder of creator marketing company Pearpop, said he was optimistic that creators would adapt if a ban were to occur.

“Creators will be a powerful force behind our culture, with or without TikTok,” he said in an email. “Ultimately, where creatives go, target groups and brands also follow.”

As they prepare for the reality of losing some of their regular income, some TikTok creators have already started building their following elsewhere.

Miller, who has around 230,000 TikTok followers, said he makes the majority of his income through TikTok’s Creator Fund (which pays based on views and engagement) and livestreams. Anticipating a ban, he used his TikTok page to cross-promote his YouTube and Instagram accounts. He plans to test new types of content to better serve these platforms.

Fashion and beauty creator Kalita Hon, who said about 70% of her income comes from TikTok, mostly through brand deals, is pursuing a similar strategy. She said she plans to shift her focus to Instagram Reels in the hope that fashion brands will be more likely to switch there after a ban.

But she said she doesn’t expect to bring her 245,000 TikTok followers are with her because the audience is “very specific” to that platform.

“TikTok has so much culture that is so specific to the app because there are certain videos that go insanely viral and then become the next inside joke,” Hon said.

Some YouTubers, like Taylor Pare, argue that if a ban goes into effect, creators whose income comes primarily from TikTok should be eligible for unemployment benefits. The app makes up about 90 to 95% of her income, she said.

“Maybe when you make millions of dollars you’re ready, but I think there are people who really rely on this and have made this their job,” said Pare, a full-time TikTok creator who has built an audience has over 90,000 followers talking about dating in New York City. “And if the government thinks we can’t have that, I think there needs to be some compensation or financial incentives.”

There were also early rumors about a possible replacement for TikTok. Some developers and users have mentioned several new apps – like Clapper and a yet-to-be-launched app called Neptune – as options.

Although Neptune has only been in the works since May, CEO Ashley Darling said the sudden “mass panic and hysteria” over TikTok’s looming ban has generated so much user interest in the new app that her team is pushing back the release date to next spring, the beta test should start in January.

Pearpop’s Mason said that “the creator economy rewards diverse talent.”

If the government thinks we are not allowed to do that, I think there needs to be some compensation or financial incentives.

– Tiktok creator Taylor Pare

“The TikTok ban, should it go into effect, will be just the latest in a long history of reinvention by creators and digital marketers,” he said, later adding in his email: “Before the rise of TikTok, we have saw the rise and.” The decline of Dubsmash, Vine and countless other platforms without any regulatory action from the US. The same community that can survive sudden algorithm changes, the shift from long to short videos, and a trend cycle that changes minute to minute can handle a TikTok ban.”

Still, some, like Hon, are skeptical of any TikTok copycats.

“I think if anything, people will just migrate to apps that are already established and have that level of recognition,” she said.

Since a ban would primarily affect American TikTok users, the only people who would have incentives to join a new app would be Americans, Hon said, potentially including non-American users hoping to re-follow their favorite creators there.

Others, like Ficarra, anticipate the challenges they will face in making the transition – but said they feel it will open up new opportunities for smaller creatives.

“I’m not afraid of the hard work it’s going to take because that’s obviously what I’ve done with my company,” Ficarra said. “And I think there’s something exciting about a new platform coming out.”

For Miller, joining a new app would feel like déjà vu from the years before TikTok, when other platforms like Vine were the go-to.

“We all switched to TikTok. We all moved to YouTube. We’ve all moved to Instagram. … I joined BlueSky, which may be slowly replacing Twitter,” Miller said. “So if the right platform exists, why not?”

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