YouTube chases TikTok with new gifting feature for vertical livestreams | TechCrunch

YouTube is launching a new way for creators to earn money during vertical livestreams, the company announced on Thursday. Viewers can now buy “Jewels,” a digital currency, to send “gifts” to creators. Gifts are animations that appear on screen during vertical livestreams.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s similar to TikTok’s live gifting feature that lets viewers purchase “coins” to send gifts, of various monetary value, to support live creators during their streams.

When viewers use Jewels to send gifts on YouTube, creators get “Rubies.” Creators receive 1 cent for each Ruby, which means creators get $1 for 100 Rubies. Since the price for Jewels on YouTube can vary based on different bundle options, there isn’t a fixed effective revenue share, which means the amount of Rubies earned can vary.

For the next three months, eligible creators can receive a 50% bonus on their gifts’ earnings, up to $1,000 per month, in addition to their regular earnings from Rubies.

Creators can only receive gifts when they stream vertically directly on YouTube or with third-party streaming software, and viewers can only send gifts through the mobile app.

Although YouTube has allowed viewers to support livestreamers through “Super Stickers” in the chat tab, this new feature is a direct response to the popularity of gifts on TikTok Lives.

Creators on TikTok are earning thousands of dollars by going live and then receiving gifts from viewers. For instance, some teens earned up to $7,000 a month by arguing for or against Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in live battles on the platform. Plus, numerous NPC streamers have earned thousands of dollars, per day in some cases, by receiving gifts during livestreams.

YouTube notes that once an eligible creator enables gifts on their vertical livestreams, they will no longer have access to Super Stickers. The Google-owned company says it believes gifts offer viewers a better way to visually support their favorite live creators.

The new monetization option is rolling out to eligible creators in the U.S. over the next few weeks.