TikTok battles are also known as player knockouts because the idea is, one individual within the live stream will win. Creators can battle head-to-head to earn the most gifts from viewers, and these are battles.
Player knockouts are exactly what the name suggests. TikTok creators can go live in a joint stream and battle against each other to win the most virtual gifts from those watching the live. After 5 minutes, the battle is up and the winner will be selected.
How do TikTok battles work?
Content creators can join in lives with others on the platform. These lives are a great way to earn extra money, especially when a battle takes place. TikTok creators can request a battle with the other user and for 5 minutes will go head-to-head to see who can come out on top.
Viewers can purchase gifts using coins bought within the app. There are many virtual items you can gift a TikTok creator. All have different values. The creator who has the highest gift value at the end of the battle will win.
Each gift purchased and given to a creator will be displayed on the screen in real-time. They pop up as cute little animations representing the gift. At the end of a battle, streamers can collect their earnings by cashing out their prizes which have been changed to diamonds.
TikTok will take their cut which is around 70% and the creator keeps the rest. Creators need to often encourage their audience members to keep gifting. With TikTok keeping such a large amount of the earnings, they need to collect everything they can get.
How does a TikTok creator win a battle?
To win a TikTok battle, as mentioned, a creator needs to gain the most gifts. The best way to do this, for many, is to encourage their fans ahead of time. By asking for fans not to gift in normal lives, many creators encourage them to wait until the battle commences.
Often a creator will let their fans know they plan to battle at a later date or time, and they will request their fans save all gifting until then so they can win. TikTok stars will come online and hype their future lives and battles, often promising further content in return for gifts.
They might gatekeep certain information or videos unless they win. Reminding their followers if they want to see it, they’ll need to help them win the battle. It’s essentially a popularity content, but all creators who join in battles want to win.
Creators disagree with TikTok battles
There is a lot of controversy surrounding TikTok battles. Many creators feel the process is unfair because those with more followers will obviously win. However, this isn’t always the case. Creators may have followers who don’t engage with their live videos.
Just because a person has numerous followers doesn’t mean these will all join in the live to gift. Likewise, when joining another creator in their battle, you are being exposed to their audience too, who may agree with your argument on a topic more than theirs.
The argument we can agree with however is TikTok taking 70% of the earnings from the battles. If the creators are working hard to win battles and receive gifts, they should get the majority of the payment. After all, their audience are spending their money on the creator.
Obviously TikTok has to earn money somewhere, and they have every right to take their cut, but 70% seems extremely high. There are other ways creators can earn on the platform, such as affiliate links and adverts, so it isn’t all doom and gloom.
Battles should just be a bit of fun, and they shouldn’t be taken too seriously. However, like with everything within the creative world, this isn’t always the case. Some creators put so much pressure on their viewers to gift to help them win battles.
