These performances reach audiences thousands of miles away who, through TikTok’s gift-giving feature, can send virtual tokens of appreciation that carry real monetary value. What might at first glance appear as a modern form of busking raises intriguing questions – not least, who benefits most from it?

If you’ve not come across it, here’s an example from one of these TikTok accounts called @theatheteeronay. It’s a short recording from a four-hour live stream where the dancers take turns to perform in front of the camera and respond to messages and gifts from viewers.

Watch it here.

No direct exchange of real money happens between the performer and the viewer; instead, viewers purchase virtual “gifts” through TikTok, which the live streamer can later redeem for cash. TikTok takes a significant cut – up to 50% – from each transaction.

As a viewer, you purchase a bundle of TikTok coins – which currently equate to roughly 1.4p each.

You can then exchange these coins for gifts to send to a TikTok Live streamer. There’s a huge array of gifts you can choose from, with more being created week on week, ranging from small things like a rose for just over a penny to a universe for £500.

Most of the gifts given in live streams are small but you’ll see in the example above the reaction to the gift of an Elvis quiff and glasses – worth more than £4. The personalised shoutouts and connection between performer and audience is a key feature of TikTok Live sessions and a big part of their appeal.

So just how much money are these performers making?

On the TikTok Live example from @theatheteeronay above the dancers had around 300 viewers at any one time and most gifts were things like roses and hearts worth 1.4p, caps at 13p and some TikTok crowns (40p). The website Tikleap.com tracks estimates of how much TikTokers are earning from Live gifts – and on the day of this example (November 8 2024) it estimates @theatheteronay made £345 … after TikTok deducted its 50% commission. Receiving a total of nearly £700 in relatively small gifts in one day seems pretty impressive – though there are around 15 dancers at a time keeping the sessions going. It’s not clear who’s behind these accounts – this is just one of many – and you have to wonder what kind of cut each dancer can expect.

If the whole idea makes you feel slightly uncomfortable you’re not alone. Critics on Reddit and online discussion forums say TikTok Lives like these are little more than glorified begging – and often have a pop at well-known TikTokers who do them.

British TikToker @rightguyreviews – who’s built up 1.7 million followers for his shopping reviews and deals videos – responded recently by posting this TikTok using Tikleap to show the tiny amounts he’s received in gifts on his own Lives, saying gifts are not why he does them. He talks about that here.

But he points to other TikTokers who are regularly making upwards of £70,000 a month through TikTok Live gifts. And he says that’s not through begging – it’s entertainment.

The huge variety of TikTok accounts trying to make money through gifts on Live sessions range from musicians, comedians and dancers to mediums giving psychic readings, people who have suddenly become TikTok famous, or people doing the most mundane of things at home or at work.

To make the really big money you need to build up a really big following for your Lives – and some of the biggest are for TikTokers taking part in Live battles where two people compete to get the most gifts in one session, often offering to do random things to persuade the audience to give … and taking a long time to do them. It can be baffling watching these Lives and wondering why so many people are prepared to part with their money to encourage people to do not very much.

Entertainment or exploitation? Maybe it’s a bit of both – though I’m not sure sometimes who might be exploiting who!

Tony Cuthbertson is founder of Shooglebox. Read more opinion on The Drum.