Live.ly now lets you give gifts to your favorite stars
LOS ANGELES -- Live.ly -- the sister app to popular musical.ly -- has become the latest to give creators the opportunity to monetize their streams.
As of this week, the app, which allows users to broadcast their actions in real time on their phones, now gives broadcasters the ability to monetize through both livestreaming and their personal channels. The app first rolled out monetization on Oct. 31, and the update has now expanded the ways in which creators can monetize.
Fans on the platform can buy "digital gifts" — animated stickers that pop onto the screen during broadcasts — for their favorite broadcasters.
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The app also rolled out new features similar to Snapchat, which allows users to post photos and videos that vanish after 24 hours.
Live.ly's new features come as livestreaming continues to grow in popularity, with many jumping in the space in hopes of rivaling Twitter's Periscope.
Monetization on a livestreaming platform is not new. Already, YouNow and Kamcord both have "virtual gifts" features on their apps. Live-streaming apps like Busker and Live.me introduced shopping experiences in October.
But Alex Hofmann, president of musical.ly, maintains it's not about competing with other apps, it's about pleasing the users.
"We know from our users that they like to play with new things every now and then," Hofmann told Mashable. "It’s very important for us to innovate, listen to what they like and to give them something new to use."
Part of live.ly's advantage is clearly its built-in fanbase, a.k.a. existing musical.ly users. Many, including the platform's most popular stars, were quick to download the new live offering after it launched earlier this year.
"We realized if we give creators an incentive to really invest in great, great, great content, then everyone wins," Hoffman said.
Some creators are already reaping the benefits of the new features.
"Who doesn’t like to make money from what they do?" Aaron Doh, one of musical.ly and live.ly's top broadcasters, told Mashable. "Actually from what they love to do."
The 21-year-old started his career on the now defunct Vine platform. He stopped using it before Twitter killed it however, because he said "Vine was turning into a negative place."
"I like lively and musical.ly because they are really receptive to any ideas I've had," he said. "They listen to the influencer. That’s where a lot of other apps end up failing, and then they turn into ghost town apps."
On Monday, he said he made $1,000 on live.ly. Hoffman said the top 10 broadcasters made $46,000 on average over a two-week period.
Topics Apps & Software
Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
