X replaces ‘misaligned’ revenue sharing program with Original Content Rewards

Original Content Rewards: A New Era for X Creators

X, the social media platform now owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX, is shaking up how it pays influencers and creators. In announcing the change, the company said it will be winding down its existing Revenue Sharing program and replacing it with something called Original Content Rewards.

The new program will stop accepting new Revenue Sharing participants, while existing participants will continue earning money through September 7. Then, starting on September 8, they'll be able to apply for the new program. Participants will still need to subscribe to one of X's Premium tiers, and there will be qualifying thresholds for follower count (500 verified followers) and impressions (500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users in 90 days).

But the big change is the emphasis on originality. What counts as original content? X said it can include original reporting and analysis, photos and videos created by the poster, or memes and graphics they've designed themselves. Commentary also counts, but 'if your content regularly incorporates material created by others, you'll need to contribute meaningful original value for it to qualify under our original content guidelines.'

The company also included examples of posts that won't count as original, such as those just copied over from another account, downloaded from one account and re-uploaded to your own, or reposting content 'without meaningful transformation.'

This announcement follows repeated attempts by X to reform the Revenue Sharing program, for example reducing payments to aggregators and 'clickbait' accounts in April. But these efforts have also prompted complaints from popular accounts profiting from the current system; Musk even reversed some of those changes (giving a creator's local audience more weight when calculating payouts) after a backlash.

In a post about the new changes, X's Allegra Jacchia wrote that the existing program 'had reached a point where its incentives were misaligned.' 'Creators should be focused on bringing net new content to the platform instead of maximizing payouts,' she said. 'We could have kept adding more rules and exceptions, but ultimately the better decision was to start fresh and build a program designed from day one to reward originality.'

Jacchia added that X will 'continue refining the program, improving our models, and raising the bar over time.'

Implications for Creators

The shift to Original Content Rewards could have significant implications for creators on the platform. Those who rely on copying and pasting content from other sources may find themselves struggling to adapt to the new system. On the other hand, creators who focus on producing original content may find new opportunities and incentives to produce high-quality work.

The Future of X

The change to Original Content Rewards is just the latest development in X's ongoing efforts to reform its Revenue Sharing program. As the platform continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how creators adapt to the new system and what kind of content emerges as a result.