• X has been trying to lure more creators to host on the platform through its ad-revenue program.
• But one survey showed that only 5% of creators want to use X as their main platform, per WSJ.
• Some creators are concerned with X’s ad business or unpredictability on payouts, WSJ reported.

Some creators remain reluctant to host their content on X after more than a year under Elon Musk‘s stewardship, citing concerns about the platform’s ability to lure advertisers and unpredictability around ad-revenue payments, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Since Musk bought Twitter in 2022, the new owner has been trying to lure more content creators onto his newly-branded platform X through an ad-sharing program in which advertisements are featured within the replies of their posts.

MrBeast, a popular YouTuber, was a prominent creator who recently tested the waters of the site’s ad program — after expressing concerns that X doesn’t pay enough — and received more than $250,00 for one video. Even then, X users were convinced that Musk rigged the outcome. The YouTuber also said that his payout is “a bit of a facade” and that his revenue will likely be higher than what most will experience.

Musk appeared to deny the accusations that he put his thumb on the scale for MrBeast. Either way, the Journal reported that some creators are reluctant to post their content on X partly due to the platform’s sometimes tenuous relationship with big advertisers and unpredictability around payouts.

Many large advertisers have pulled out of the X platform since Musk’s takeover due to concerns about brand safety, lax content moderation, and even Musk’s own posts. In 2023, X was estimated to have brought in around $1.89 billion in revenue in ad revenue, a 54% drop from 2022, according to Insider Intelligence.

But as Musk acknowledged last year, the exodus could be an issue for content creators hoping to see a substantial payout from their posts.

“X isn’t exactly a stable or reliable platform,” Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at Emarketer, told The Journal. “Given the state of its ad business, it’s hard to imagine it can convince most creators that it can provide them with a sustainable source of income.”

Missed payments

According to The Journal, one survey found that just 5% of over 450 creators planned to use X as their main platform to host their content in 2024.

Recently, some creators have also complained about the unpredictability around ad-revenue payouts, The Journal reported.

One creator, Chris Reilly, who makes about $20 every several weeks, told The Journal that his payments stopped and resumed twice in the past month.

“I wouldn’t encourage people to sign up for Premium right now and try to do the ad-revenue sharing until this is all sorted out,” he told the newspaper.

In response to Business Insider’s inquiry, Joe Benarroch, the platform’s spokesperson, pointed to two posts from X, including one directly responding to The Journal’s story.

“X’s creator program, launched only 7 months ago, is making significant strides due to the dedication of a great team working to make it a success for all creators,” Benarroch wrote on X in reply to a post from The Journal. “Critics will always offer biased opinions without firsthand experience or any real insight into the program’s development or plans. Stay tuned!”

An official account for X’s creator program also touted some of the platform’s achievements since Musk’s takeover.

“Creator payouts did not exist on this platform before the Ads Rev Share program,” the post said, adding that payouts occur every two weeks and that X plans to expand to video ads.

Samir Chaudry, a podcaster who makes educational posts about the creator economy and once consulted Musk on making his social media company more alluring for creators, told The Journal that X is an important daily platform. However, the site still lacks a clear business strategy, he said.

“They have to start showing us the path to building a business on the platform,” he told The Journal.