Creator Startup Jellysmack Adds High-Profile TikTokers to Its Platform
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
The creator economy startup Jellysmack is expanding its platform to include TikTokers, the New York-based company announced Wednesday.
Jellysmack’s A.I. technology, proprietary data and video editing tools had been limited to long-form YouTubers. The new initiative is meant to help TikTok creators spread their content across multiple platforms and explore long-form content creation. Additionally, creators already in their program can now explore short-form content syndication.
Jellysmack will distribute TikTok creators’ content across platforms such as Facebook Reels, YouTube Shorts, TikTok and Snapchat Spotlight. Short-form creators with at least 50,000 followers and 500 videos are eligible to apply for the program. So far, 30 high-profile TikTok creators, including Nick Smithyman and Lindy and Jlo, have joined the program.
“TikTok’s explosive growth has fostered a new crop of incredibly talented creators, but TikTok alone isn’t enough to make a living,” Jellysmack President Sean Atkins said in a statement. “Creators who can expand onto multiple platforms have a massive growth and earnings opportunity, and Jellysmack enables creators to do it all—with no extra work.”
The expansion is meant to help TikTok creators find new ways to grow their audiences and monetize their content. TikTok has previously faced criticism for what many see as its creator fund’s insubstantial payouts, though the platform has recently announced new ways for users to make money on their content.
Jellysmack reached unicorn status in 2021. It now has over 100 employees working out of L.A. and a number of local creators on its roster. It recently acquired a YouTube analytics company to bolster its creator program.
As creators navigate the increasing need to build audiences across multiple platforms, a handful of startups are competing on tools that can make their work profitable. Jellysmack and its Los Angeles-based competitor Spotter have both invested in licensing old YouTube videos in order to sell ads against them, while ventures like Creative Juice are finding new ways to fund artists working in the creator economy.
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
