Musk Says New Twitter Feature Will Allow ‘Content Creators’ Access To Their Subscribers’ Email If They Want To Leave Platform

Topline

Content creators on Twitter will be able to access the email addresses of their paying subscribers, the platform’s owner Elon Musk announced Wednesday, saying it is intended to make it easier for creators to leave Twitter should they choose to.

Key Facts

Musk tweeted this feature will allow creators to “take their subscribers with them” if they choose to leave the platform.

Access to emails will only be provided to a creator if the subscriber opts in to share the information.

This is largely in line with what other creator-focused subscription platforms like Substack and Patreon already offer but it is unclear when Twitter will implement this feature.

Tangent

Hours before announcing the feature, Musk took a shot at Amazon-owned live-streaming platform Twitch over its controversial new guidelines for creators and even suggested Twitter may offer a competing platform. Live streaming features on Twitter are extremely limited as users can only share live videos from the mobile app, unless they use third-party tools. Twitch, which is largely focused on the gaming community, allows users to also stream from their PCs or game consoles. Twitter’s own live-streaming service, Periscope, was shut down by the company in 2021, but Musk has indicated he may be interested in bringing it back.

Key Background

As part of Musk’s ambition to turn Twitter into a so-called everything app, the platform has added new tools and features to draw more content creators. These features include support for long-form text through 10,000-character tweets, video uploads up to 2 hours long, and allowing creators to monetize their content with paid subscriptions. Musk has also promised creators a slice of Twitter’s ad revenue, although this feature is yet to be implemented. Twitter’s most high-profile new content creator, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, made his debut on the platform on Tuesday.

Contra

Despite its efforts to present itself as a creator-friendly platform, Twitter has come under some criticism for putting many of these features behind its $8-per-month paywall. This is a departure from the norm as other creator platforms like YouTube and Substack do not charge a subscription fee from creators and instead take a cut of their subscription earnings.

Further Reading

Encrypted Messaging, 2-Hour Videos: Here Are The Moves Twitter Has Made In Its Bid To Become An ‘Everything’ App (Forbes)