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The 18-year-old influencer Katie Feeney, who has 5 million TikTok followers, has made over $1 million from Snapchat since she began to use the app's new short-form-video feature, Spotlight, at the end of November.
2021-02-16
Feeney's Spotlight posts are similar to what she posts on TikTok and Instagram: videos of herself unboxing products, dancing, and making funny videos with friends, some of which she repurposed from her camera roll or other social-media accounts.
When she got a notification from Snapchat that she had earned over $200,000 from her first week of posting to Spotlight, she was shocked. But now, she's earned over $1 million (it will be paid in installments).
Feeney isn't the only Spotlight user to make over a million, though most creators are earning far less.
When the TikTok-like feature first launched, Snap announced that it would pay out a total of $1 million a day to creators whose video adhered to its content guidelines and performed well according to its engagement algorithm. In the first six weeks after Spotlight's release, Snap paid $42 million to over 2,000 users (the company has 265 million daily active users and 100 million monthly active Spotlight users).
Snap's push into paying creators to post content mirrors a similar effort by TikTok, which launched a $1 billion fund for its users in July. So far, payouts from Snap have been larger, some creators told Insider.
"It's more lucrative," said Max Levine, COO at Amp Studios, an LA content studio that represents internet stars like Brent Rivera, Ben Azelart, and the Stokes twins. Levine said the creators he represents have been earning between four and five figures from Spotlight each week. "If your content does well, it's going to get rewarded. You're kind of incentivized that way."
Kevin Parry, a stop-motion animator and visual effects artist with 1 million followers on Instagram and TikTok, earned a four-figure payout from Spotlight. He films short vertical videos for Instagram Reels, YouTube, and TikTok, and he first began posting videos to Snapchat in December.
He said one of the videos he posted at the end of December earned $4,998, although he has not been paid out yet. Insider verified these rates with documentation provided by Parry.
Snapchat hasn't said the average rate it's paying each Spotlight creator. It's evident from what the company has shared that the majority of its users aren't getting paid millions. And it's unclear whether Snap's sizable payouts are a temporary stunt to draw attention to Spotlight or the start of a long-term commitment to invest in its creators (the company only committed to make payments through the end of last year).
Creators who have received million-dollar payouts aren't taking anything for granted.
"This won't last forever," said Cam Casey, a 19-year-old social-media creator who has made over $3.5 million. "We are just taking advantage of it while here and just trying to do the most with it."
Katie Feeney is a high-school senior and content creator with over 5 million TikTok followers. She uploaded her first video to Spotlight at the end of November after finding out about the feature through an in-app announcement on Snapchat.
And after a week of posting, she got a notification from Snapchat.
"When I got the first notification that I may have earned money, I was so shocked and I didn't really think it was real," Feeney told Insider.
But reality hit once Feeney found out that she had earned over $200,000 from her first week of posting to Spotlight, she said. Then, she started posting more videos to Snap — from repurposing TikToks to creating quick, funny new content.
In January, Feeney said she was notified that she was on track to earn over $1 million from Spotlight. Insider confirmed these earnings with sources familiar with Snap's creator payouts.
Feeney told Insider that she has already received her first payment and will continue to be paid in chunks, ultimately adding up to the $1 million payout.
Sarah Callahan (@Sarati) has around 700,000 subscribers on Snapchat and millions of followers on TikTok. She posts dance and fitness videos and comedic skits that sometimes feature her husband or dog.
The actress, model, and fitness influencer aims to post a new video on Spotlight every five minutes. She's earned over $1 million from Snapchat videos since the feature went live.
"I have a timer and I'm posting video after video," she said. "My whole entire day I just post Spotlights. It'd be stupid of me not too."
"My biggest week was over $300,000, and there's been a couple weeks after that that have been [about] that high," she said.
Rogoff is a TikTok creator with about 4 million followers who films prank videos, challenges, and experiments alongside his roommate and fellow creator Cam Casey.
Since posting to Snap's Spotlight feature, Rogoff has made about $1.2 million, Insider confirmed with sources familiar with Snap's creator payouts.
But he feels it won't last.
"We are in week eight now and it's becoming saturated," Rogoff told Insider. "Now it's definitely much more difficult to get those views, which will also lead to lower payouts."
Cam Casey – over $3.5 million
Cam Casey
Snapchat's top earning creator is Cam Casey, who is a TikTok star with 7 million followers.
Since he began posting to Snap's Spotlight feature in December, Casey has made over $3.5 million, Insider confirmed with sources familiar with Snap's creator payouts.
"The energy goes where the money is," Casey told Insider. "I put 100% of my focus into Snapchat just because it's where the money is. We'd love to see it turn into more of a long term thing like TikTok Creator Fund."
Casey said he has been prioritizing making content for Spotlight, and he films dedicated videos for Snap several times a day.
But there is a limit to how often a creator can post – every five minutes. In Snap's terms and conditions for Spotlight, it states that it "may also limit the number of Snaps that Creators can submit over a certain period of time" to maintain quality.
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Amanda Perelli was a senior creator economy reporter.Her reporting on a secretive OnlyFans management firm was recognized by the LA Press Club's National Entertainment Journalism Awards as its top Business Tech and Arts story in 2022. She was also named a Top Voice in the Creator Economy by LinkedIn (follow her profile here).Got a tip? Follow Amanda on Instagram at @amandaperelli. Popular articles
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Dan is a correspondent at Business Insider covering TikTok, YouTube, and the business of social media.He writes about how creators earn a living from social apps, the inner workings of companies like TikTok, and the many ways that social media is impacting Hollywood and other industries like e-commerce, sports, music, and news.He previously wrote about marketing and entrepreneurship at Ad Age and Inc. Magazine. He was a McGraw Scholar in business journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and a graduate of Middlebury College. Disclosure: Dan previously worked at the ad tech company, The Trade Desk, where he was granted stock as part of his compensation.
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Sydney Bradley has been covering media and tech for Business Insider since 2020. She breaks news and writes extensively about Instagram and Facebook, as well as new social media startups, dating apps, the creator economy, venture capital, and tech culture.She regularly contributes to BI's "After Hours" series, where our reporters dive into the social scenes shaping tech, media, and finance.Sydney's reporting on Instagram was nominated as a finalist for the 2021 Los Angeles Press Club National Entertainment Journalism Awards.She graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in American Studies. You can follow Sydney's work on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram at @sydneykbradley.Have a tip? You can also contact her via encrypted messaging app Signal (@sydneykbradley.123), encrypted email (sydneykbradley@proton.me), or standard email (sbradley@bjinnox.com). Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.
