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TikTok is one of the most popular apps in the world right now. Users can share video clips of up to fifteen seconds long. They have access to a database of songs, effects, and sound bites. This has launched music careers and popular created dance trends. Tiktokers work together on videos by reacting to existing TikToks through split-screen reactions called duets.
Since 2018, TikTok has had more new users installing the app than Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and even YouTube – and has more current users than Twitter or Snapchat. With more people around the world having free time in quarantine, TikTok has only grown.
Some users are using the app for more than casual entertainment, though. Like YouTube, TikTok allows content creators to use product placement, sign endorsement deals, and use all kinds of methods to monetize their videos. Here are 5 that have made millions:
Spencer X
Earnings: $1.5 million
TikTok followers: 40.2 million
Spencer X’s goal is to be the biggest, mainstream beat boxing superstar in the world.
Spencer is self taught, and learned to beat box watching by watching YouTubers. Now he has his own successful YouTube channel, which he has monetized to great success.
He has found a massive audience of TikTok, and earned a massive sum of money through brand sponsorships for companies like Nickelodeon, Oreo, Sony, Chips Ahoy, Sketchers, and HBO. He has also used TikTok’s livestream feature to fund his performances, raising thousands of dollars at a time.
Spencer X has moved to Hollywood and plans to release his songs on Spotify.
“I’m going to be the largest man-made business within the entertainment industry,” says Spencer.
Michael Le
Earnings: $1.5 million
TikTok followers: 36.2 Million
When asked about his goals as an influencer, Michael Le said: “I want to just become a mogul where anything I touch just turns to gold.”
Unlike some of the other stars on this list, Michael Le became famous on TikTok rather than bringing a fandom over from another app. Le is the founder of the of the Shluv House (which is a play on “self-love.”) Like Loren Gray, his content is almost a family business. Rather than dancing with his mother though, Le often features his five-year-old brother in his videos.
Le is a professional dancer with nine years of experience, who has described his style as urban hip-hop and new school. He may be best known for his “escalator dance prank” video, which had a record-breaking 550K shares.
With the free time that Le has in quarantine, he is now adapting his content and spreading his brand onto YouTube as well.
Loren Gray
Earnings: $2.6 million
TikTok Followers: 46.2 million
Eighteen-year-old TikTok star Loren Gray is known for being a beauty guru and singer. She is known for calling her fans “angels,” and even got a tattoo of angel wings on her neck to honor her fandom.
Gray was originally a star on the app Musical.ly in 2015, and her fans followed her to TikTok – at one time making her the most followed user. She is also popular on YouTube, where she has a beauty channel. Her song titled ‘Queen’ has over 13 million views.
Gray is making her way into the music industry. She made a cameo in Taylor Swift’s video, ‘The Man.’ She is currently signed to Virgin and Capitol Records.
Charli D’Amelio
Earnings: 4 million
TikTok Followers: 107 million
Charli D’Amelio has been dancing since she was three years old, and competing in dance competitions since she was five. He first video was called “Move With Joy,” and within six months of posting it, D’Amelio had gained five million followers.
Since then, D’Amelio has been living a celebrity life. She danced onstage with Bebe Rexha during a Jonas Brothers concert and featured in a Super Bowl commercial. She had her first meet and greet in November of 2019 (and donated all the money from it to charity.)
Addison Rae
Earnings: $5 million
TikTok Followers 54.8 million
Addison Rae first downloaded TikTok in July of 2019 as a joke after she saw middle schoolers she babysat using it and wanted to try it out. Her very first post got 93,000 likes, which inspired her to continue.
Eventually Rae’s started making videos of herself dancing with her mother. These really took off on the app. Rae still works with her mother. They now have a podcast together called “Mama Knows Best,” which gives “an intimate and authentic look” into their personal lives and relationship.
Rae filmed herself and her mother dancing to Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed,” and it caught the superstar singer’s attention. Mariah ‘liked’ the post, and Addison went viral.
Being part of the always-controversial Hype House only increased her popularity. Rae is technically a member of Hype House, though she has never physically lived there. You can see her meme videos and viral dances and the Hype House TikTok.
Rae is also associated with the Sway House. She used to date Sway House member Bryce Hall before deciding that they were better off as friends (though some believe that they are still seeing each other.)
Rae has signed with the talent agency WME, focusing on modeling, dance, TV, endorsements, and licensing. She hopes to be an actress in the future.
Sources: Forbes, Seventeen, GQ, Vox, ScreenRant, Popbuzz, Mediakix, Tiger Beat
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