Artists in Australia can now make money from virtual gigs on Facebook
Creators and small businesses in Australia and a bunch of other territories can now charge for live events on Facebook, including virtual gigs.
Back in April, when the country was in lockdown and the notion of tours and festivals was no more than a fuzzy dream, the social giant hinted at plans to allow artists to monetise live streaming via its Facebook Live platform.
Those plans have come to fruition, with the launch of a feature that will enable musos to create online events, set the price of entry, promote it, and collect the cash.
At launch, owners of Pages can start charging in 20 markets, including Australia, the United States and United Kingdom. But not in New Zealand, yet.
Live-streamers have a handful of options to spin money from their virtual efforts, from in-stream ads and branded content.
According to a blog post by Fidji Simo, Vice President, Head of Facebook App, the tech titan is also testing paid events with Messenger Rooms for “more personal and interactive gatherings.”
FB will pay out once a month, provided you’ve crossed the minimum threshold of US$100. Your pot is calculated at the end of each month and paid out about 30 days later, usually in the first week of the following month.
Rules apply. For starters, creators, publishers and third-parties can only generate money from content “that they created or were involved in the creation of.”
The FB disclaimer explains, “Content that is unoriginal or reproduced without making meaningful enhancements (commentary, parody, creative editing etc.) cannot be monetised.”
Or other words, FB pays out for fresh meat only.
Money money money
In a sweetener for artists and small enterprises doing it tough in these rough times, FB won’t collect fees for at least the next year, Simo explains. “For transactions on the web, and on Android in countries where we have rolled out Facebook Pay,” she continues, “small businesses will keep 100% of the revenue they generate from paid online events.”
The amnesty, however, doesn’t apply to IOS. “We asked Apple to reduce its 30% App Store tax or allow us to offer Facebook Pay so we could absorb all costs for businesses struggling during COVID-19,” writes Simo, clearly having a crack at the trillion-dollar-company.
“Unfortunately, they dismissed both our requests and SMBs will only be paid 70% of their hard-earned revenue. Because this is complicated, as long as Facebook is waiving its fees, we will make all fees clear in our products.”
Live-streaming isn’t just a pandemic buzz phrase. It’s emerged as a lifeline for creatives, connecting artists with their audiences, and keeping everyone sane.
According to Simo, live video and “interactive experiences” are on a tear during the socially-distanced months, with live broadcasts from Pages doubled compared in June, compared with the same time in 2019.
Earlier in the year, Simo and her team unveiled a new games-room — Messenger Rooms — which would provide a means for musicians and other creatives to generate royalties from their performances on the platform.
At the time, the company announced several new live video features for Facebook, Instagram, and Portal would roll out sometime “soon.” A statement read, “we plan to add the ability for Pages to charge for access to events with Live videos on Facebook – anything from online performances to classes to professional conferences.”
Facebook boasts more than 2.5 billion users worldwide.
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.