Twitter users will soon be able to charge for access to their content, according to a tweet by owner Elon Musk on Thursday. The new feature will allow users to monetize their accounts, offering content ranging from long-form text to hours-long videos.
For the first 12 months, Twitter will not take any cut of the subscription revenue. This means users can retain about 70% of their subscription revenue on mobile, after accounting for the fees Apple and Google take on their app stores, according to Musk.
Twitter’s move puts it in competition with Substack, the newsletter company, which also offers similar money-making options.
Meanwhile, Substack has launched a Notes feature, which allows users to post on a public feed, making it more like Twitter. Earlier this week, Twitter temporarily disabled likes, replies, and retweets for tweets with Substack links.
The changes could potentially lure more content creators to the platform or keep them from leaving. Although Twitter won’t keep any subscription revenue from users for the first year, it could generate more revenue in the future.
Twitter recently merged with a newly formed shell firm called X Corp, which led to speculation about what Elon Musk intends for the social media platform. Twitter is now a subsidiary of X Corp, and advertising, which accounted for more than 80% of Twitter’s revenue, has declined by 50% since Musk took over.
The company is hoping to drive revenue through a premium version called Twitter Blue, but only 1% of Twitter’s monthly users have signed up. Musk said in a rare Twitter Spaces interview with the BBC this week that Twitter was operating at breakeven and could become profitable as soon as this quarter.