- TikTok is headed for a shutdown in the US after the Supreme Court passed a sell-or-ban law.
- The app is set to be pulled from app stores and could be blacked out on Sunday if its owner, ByteDance, doesn’t quit.
- TikTok’s creators and their teams are tired of months of uncertainty, but they’re also cautiously hopeful.
TikTok is in trouble.
The company will disappear from US app stores on Sunday due to a sell-or-ban law that requires its owner, ByteDance, to sell the app by January 19 or essentially cease operating in the country. TikTok may stop showing content in the US and “go dark” over the weekend.
For TikTok’s creators and their teams, the continued uncertainty surrounding the app’s future in the US has caused frustration and fatigue.
“We’ve been dealing with this for months,” said Julian Andrews, founder of talent management firm Talentiish. “I just want the situation to be over so we know how to move on.”
Some in the talent community are cautiously optimistic that a solution will emerge to save TikTok. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to try to save the app once he’s in office, though his options may be limited.
“Many of us are still hoping it will work,” said Barbara Jones, CEO of Outshine Talent.
Others aren’t holding their breath and are instead focusing on established alternatives, such as Instagram reels and YouTube shorts, as well as challenger apps like Clapper, Flip and RedNote.
“Many of our customers are making accounts on RedNote and Flip as well as downloading their data from the TikTok app,” Jones said. They are trying to be as prepared as possible.”
Creators may be reluctant to commit to new platforms, however, when ad dollars are far more reliable on major players like Instagram.
Instagram is, for the most part, the platform of choice among those Business Insider spoke to who are switching from TikTok.
Fallen Media, which runs TikTok shows like “What’s Poppin? With Davis!” said it will invest heavily in Instagram reels, for example.
“I’ve been suggesting to my clients not to focus on any new platform and focus on the tried and true,” Andrews told Talentiish.
Meanwhile, there is still no clear answer as to what will happen this weekend.
“The truth is, we don’t know what’s going to happen on Sunday, which I think is the crazy part,” said Fallen Media CEO Sol Betesh.
Creators are exhausted and devastated to say goodbye to TikTok
As news of a TikTok ban oscillates between good news and legal defeats, some creators are sinking into despair. The Supreme Court’s loss on Friday hit particularly hard for those whose businesses depend on the app.
“The decision is really devastating for me as someone who built their platform starting with TikTok,” said Sofia Bella, a TikTok creator with 4.8 million followers. Losing most of my audience is a hard reality to face, and while I’m doing everything I can to prepare, it’s hard not to feel like I’m starting over.
Andrews said the talent manager’s job has shifted between acting as a therapist and strategist for the creatives they manage.
Several creators are actively fighting against a TikTok ban, including Vitus Spehar, who runs the news account @underthedesknews. Spehar has covered the latest news and political developments surrounding the sale. They said Americans should call their senators and other representatives to demand action against the law.
Still, other creators who have experienced burnout from TikTok are welcoming a potential turnaround if the app flops.
“Overall, the tone from most internet creators I’ve spoken to has been completely apathetic,” said Tati Bruening, a TikTok creator with 2.4 million followers. “The pace of content creation for TikTok was a recipe for burnout.”
Building a strategy for the end of the world
Even as the creator economy prepares for the loss of its favorite corner of the internet, this moment is a lesson for many.
“Stop building brands on social media that other people own,” Jennifer Powell, a talent manager who works with creators like Tezza and Ty French, told BI. “It can and will happen again. Start your own website, put out newsletters, blogs, use affiliates, turn it into a brand and own your own little place on the web.”
A TikTok ban could also be a gold rush for social media startups as they race to fill the void.
“There’s never been a better time to start a creation or curation company,” said Em Herrera, a former investor at Slow Ventures who recently founded a firm called Creator Venture Accelerator.
