Clubhouse releases tool for creators to earn money

The tool lets listeners send money to their favourite creators or speakers on the platform. The company says Payments is the first of many monetisation tools that allow creators to get paid for content.

Clubhouse says users can already start sending payments. The feature will roll out the ability to receive payments in intervals. Its co-founder, Paul Davison, says the company wants to focus on direct artist payments instead of attracting advertisers.

How it works

All Clubhouse users can send a payment on the platform provided that the creator has the feature enabled. To send a payment in Clubhouse, tap on the creator’s profile and select ‘Send Money’. Enter the amount you would like to send the creator. On first use, you’ll be asked to register a credit or debit card.

“One-hundred percent of the payment will go to the creator,” Clubhouse says. “The person sending the money will also be charged a small card processing fee, which will go directly to our payment processing partner, Stripe. Clubhouse will take nothing.”

Clubhouse has partnered with Irish-American financial services company Stripe to handle the processing of payments. “It’s cool to see a new social platform focus first on participant income rather than internalised monetisation/advertising,” Stripe CEO Patrick Collison tweeted. “Excited for the burgeoning creator economy and next era of internet business models.”

Clubhouse was founded by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, and was officially launched by software developers Alpha Exploration in April 2020. The invite-only app is currently available on iOS and has seen thousands of users join a chatroom where individuals such as Elon Musk have discussed topics like Bitcoin, the future of Tesla and vaccine rollouts, among other topics. It has also been used by musicians such as US artist Bomani X to host solo concerts or collaborate with other musicians.

Meanwhile, Clubhouse’s rapid explosion has sparked a scramble by rivals who are trying to clone the app. Music streaming service Spotify recently acquired live audio app Locker Room, with plans to build a Clubhouse rival. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram are all working on similar Clubhouse clones.