Kick's team is launching a new app to help creators monetize their fans
The Club app offers creators direct payment and community-building tools.
1Club's Key Features
The team behind Kick is launching a new app for creators called Club. Club provides tools for creators to receive direct payments and build fan communities. The app aims to offer a more human alternative in a social media landscape filled with bots and AI-generated content. Club's CEO Henrik Pohlmann announced that the platform is exiting beta with iOS and Android apps.
2Competitive Market
Club is entering a competitive market dominated by big players like Patreon, Substack, and OnlyFans. The platform plans to differentiate itself by emphasizing community and discovery features. Fans will have profiles, earn rewards like participation badges, and interact with creators. Club commits to an ad-free experience and will generate revenue by taking a 20% cut from creators' earnings.
3Revenue Model
Club will take a 20% cut from creators' earnings, matching OnlyFans' rate but higher than Substack and Patreon's 10% platform fees. The app doesn't allow explicit sexual content. Club has been in beta for several months and has signed up approximately 3,000 creators, mostly from Kick.
4Connection to Kick
Club was founded by Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven, who also operate Kick and gambling site Stake.com. Launched in 2022, Kick is known for lighter content moderation compared to rivals. This approach and high payouts have made it attractive to controversial personalities. Kick has expanded its human moderation team and recently opened to advertising.
5Creators' Multiplatform Presence
Social media analysts note that creators now use multiple platforms, reducing fans' motivation to follow them to new platforms. Ben Woods of Enders Analysis says Club must offer a better experience than YouTube and Twitch to succeed. Woods questions the effectiveness of launching 'the same type of thing' without a defining feature.
6An Independent Platform
Club CEO Pohlmann emphasizes that while created with Kick streamers in mind, Club is independent with its own mission and content moderation policy. Pohlmann states, 'We're focused on building a platform that supports creators across all content types and communities.' Currently, Club shows significant user overlap with Kick due to limited marketing during beta.
7Opportunities for Creators
Club offers creators opportunities to diversify income and strengthen fan relationships. Livestreamers can grow their businesses through direct payments and community building. The ad-free model and community-focused features may appeal to creators. However, Club needs unique features to compete with major platforms.
8Industry Impact
Club's success could significantly impact the creator economy. Its community-focused approach might inspire similar features from other social media companies. The direct payment model could influence industry revenue-sharing standards. However, long-term success depends on user adoption and the value proposition against competitors.