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Olajide "KSI" boasts a massive online following across a number of social media platforms and is widely hailed as one of the most prominent influencers in the United Kingdom.
The Briton has donned several hats throughout his life, but he is still primarily recognized for his YouTube endeavors, where he made his humble beginnings by posting his FIFA gameplay. Since his debut in 2009, the 28-year-old has amassed over 39 million subscribers across his two YouTube channels.
The fame naturally followed him to his other social media accounts as well. KSI has an impressive following of 11.3 million on Instagram, closely followed by TikTok, where he has accrued 9.2 million followers.
In an episode of the 'Sidecast' podcast, the rapper recently revealed how much he earns from his content on the viral short-media platform, which seems disproportionately low compared to his large following.
KSI discusses his TikTok earnings
While KSI doesn't rank among the highest paid creators of TikTok, one would assume that with a following of 9.2 million, he would be earning a hefty sum. However, the rapper debunked this illusion in the most recent episode of the podcast hosted by his friend group the 'Sidemen,' revealing that his earnings from the app were far from profitable.
Listing out his stats, he said:
"9.2 million followers. 70 million likes. 100 million plus, maybe 200 million plus views. Guess how much I’ve made?"
The podcast's co-hosts, Simon "Miniminter" Minter, and Tobi "TBJZL" Brown, originally lowballed the figure, throwing out wild guesses of £1100 (increased to £1600) and £2100. KSI was surprised by their estimates, informing them that they were "kinda low."
The influencer disclosed that his actual earnings from the app came in at the £3000 ($3789.40) mark, a figure that seems highly dissonant with his prolific profile. His friends shared the same opinion, exclaiming that it was "mad" for "for the amount of views he gets."
Brown commented on the desperate predicament of content creators who are solely dependent on TikTok and invest their money into it. Miniminter interjected, saying that this was precisely why they all "sh*t out TikToks," posting close to 5 per day, whereas KSI had posted only 40-50 in total.
The YouTuber added:
"It's just how they have to do it. And then eventually, slowly, they're moving to YouTube so that when they start making the real money, they're living!"
This glaring disparity between views and the money they generate exposes TikTok's exploitative payment policy. The boxer is not the first to speak out about getting lowballed by the platform.
In January, YouTube celebrity Jimmy "MrBeast" also shed light upon his earnings on the platform, claiming that despite having over a "billion" views, he only received $14,910.92.
Though KSI boasts an estimated net worth of £12-16 million ($15-20 million) courtesy of his YouTube, rapping, and boxing careers, not all content creators have such diverse portfolios.
Several other creators have criticized how TikTok's Creator Fund and revenue sharing system severely underpays their creators, jeopardizing their financial stability if that was their sole source of income.
Hank Green also expounded on this issue in detail in his YouTube video titled 'So...TikTok Sucks,' which struck a chord with the thousands of creators living in this reality.
