The girl behind the ‘video that lives in your head rent free’ TikTok earned just $700

Jess Marciante, the creator who made the “video that lives in your head rent free” TikTok asking people to share videos that they can’t get out of their heads, has revealed she has earned just over $700 for the video since it was posted in December.

The original TikTok now has 15.9 million views and 1.6 million likes, but despite being signed up to TikTok’s creator fund since January, Jess has received no more than $40 in a single day.

Given the endless duets, stitches and uses of her audio have practically changed the face of the app in 2021, you’d think that the actual amount would be a lot more – but Jess explained in a recent video that the amount creators are paid is solely dependant on the views that the original video gets.

@jessssthemessAnswer to @jcestre1979 let’s talk money ##money ##finance ##creatorfund ##rentfree ##BiggerIsBetter ##tiktokcreatorfund♬ original sound – Jess Marciante

“Personally I find money and finances and business fairly interesting, so I think this is really important to talk about,” she told viewers. “As most people know you need 10,000 followers to join the creator fund which I was able to do January first which was about two weeks after my video went viral.

“Throughout most of January, I made five to 10 dollars per day based on that video and the views I was getting. It’s all based around views and nothing else, so I do not get paid for any of the stitches that are out there. The most I’ve made in a day is $47.98 and that is the day I had between one and two million views.

“In total, I’ve made $734.37 which is actually really good considering the amount of views you need to make money.”

@jessssthemessHonestly iconic @ashleytisdale #MakeItMagical #Productivity #callmemaybe #justinbieber #selenagomez #rentfree♬ original sound – Jess Marciante

This video, along with similar examples including the “best celebrity interview moment” stitch have altered the landscape of the app, giving prominence to reposted video content as a massive portion of the TikToks that are circulated currently.

It’s likely that if the other uses of Jess’ “head rent free” TikTok video were included in the amount she gets from the creator fund, she’d be looking at earning tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Luckily she still seems pretty happy with the amount she got regardless.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• The 10 Count drinking game gets you and your mates smashed in less than 10 minutes