Clubhouse, a $ 1 billion year-old social audio app, will now allow users to send money to their favorite creators – or speakers – on the platform. In a blog post, the startup announced the new monetization feature, Clubhouse Payments, as “the first of many features that allow creators to be paid directly at the Clubhouse”.
The Clubhouse declined to comment. Paul Davison, the Clubhouse co-founder, mentioned in the company’s last city hall that the startup wants to focus on direct monetization on creators, rather than ads.
It will work as follows: A user can send a payment at the Clubhouse by accessing the profile of the creator to whom he wishes to donate the money. If the creator has the feature enabled, the user can tap on “Send money” and enter a value. It is like a virtual tip jar or a Clubhouse branded version of Venmo (although the payments feature currently does not allow the user to send a personalized message along with the money).
“100% of the payment will go to the breeder. The person sending the money will also be charged a small card processing fee, which will go directly to our payment processing partner, Stripe, ”says the post. “The Clubhouse will take nothing.”
Stripe CEO Patrick Collison tweeted shortly after the blog post that “It’s cool to see a new social platform focusing first on participant revenue instead of monetization / internalized advertising. “
When the startup raised a Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz in January, it was said that part of the $ 100 million funding went to a creator grant program. The program would be used to “support emerging Clubhouse creators,” according to a blog post. It is unclear how they define the emergence, but cultivating influencers (and rewarding them with money) is one way the startup is promoting high-quality content on its platform.
The synergies here are obvious. A Clubhouse creator can now get tips for a great program or raise money for a great cause, in addition to being rewarded by the platform itself for being a recurring presenter.
The fact that the Clubhouse’s first attempt at monetization does not include any percentage cut of its own is certainly noteworthy. Monetization, or the lack of it at the Clubhouse, has been a topic of discussion about the busy start since it took off in the early months of the pandemic. While it currently relies on venture capital to keep the wheels spinning, it will eventually need to make money to be a self-sustaining business.
The monetization of creators, with a cut to the platform, led to the growth of large companies. Cameo, a startup that sends personalized messages from creators and celebrities, takes about 25% of each video sold on its platform. The startup achieved unicorn status last week with an increase of $ 100 million. OnlyFans, another platform that helps creators raise money directly from fans in exchange for contact with paid access, projects $ 1 billion in revenue for 2021.
The Clubhouse payments feature will be tested first by a “small test group” starting today, but it is unclear who is in this group. Eventually, the payments feature will be implemented for other users in waves.