Chinese pop singer Hua Chenyu once made $17,000 in five hours, and he wasn’t even famous yet. In 2014, Hua posted a single on Chinese microblogging site Weibo and charged 2 yuan (30 cents) per download. He also allowed tips. The 23,000 payments made within those five hours included an average tip of 2.5 yuan each.

In China, Hua wasn’t breaking fresh ground with his financial model. Tipping video producers, podcasters and musicians online for their work has been the norm since 2013, when online payments really took off there. Tencent Music’s three streaming apps — QQ Music, KuGou and Kuwo — and its karaoke app WeSing, allow fans to tip artists any amount through the apps. Writers can be tipped for their stories through WeChat and podcasters for their episodes on Ximalaya, China’s biggest spoken-word audio platform. Now, digital tipping is beginning to catch on in the U.S., with Americans who are used to tipping bartenders, baristas and hairstylists loosening their purse strings for other services and creative professionals.

A growing number of U.S. startups are letting users tip for services as varied as a paycheck advance to podcasts and live music. Among the pioneers is Bay Area-based Earnin, which allows you to access your paycheck several days before the next payday and then pay what you think is fair for the service — between $0 and $14 per cash-out. Tipping is the company’s primary source of revenue. It also has a “pay it forward” function that allows users to add a larger tip to cover someone else who can’t afford to pay anything. Earnin (formerly Activehours) declined to reveal its exact number of users, but since launching in 2014, more than 10 million thank-you messages have been sent by people who’ve had their transactions covered by others through the pay-it-forward function.

WHEN THEY’RE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY, PEOPLE KNOW [TIPPING] IS A GREAT WAY TO SAY THANK YOU.
ZACHARY DAVIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF PREMIUM CONTENT, HIMALAYA

San Francisco’s Himalaya launched its audio content network earlier this year, allowing users to tip the creators of their favorite podcasts. Donations or tips can be difficult to collect for audio because users aren’t already looking at a screen. But the tip function is embedded in the Himalaya app, making it easier for listeners to contribute. China’s Ximalaya is Himalaya’s biggest investor, and its tipping option inspired Himalaya to do the same. So far, the firm says it has seen a high level of engagement in tipping.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.ozy.com