Twitter introduces Tip Jar donation tool

The service accepts donations from users on Twitter for iOS and Android in English. However, only a limited group of users can recieve tips, including creators, journalists, experts and nonprofits.

The tool supports services such as Bandcamp, Patreon, Cash App, PayPal and Venmo. The company says more people will be able to add Tip Jar to their profile and it will expand to more languages soon. The payment service’s availability and features will vary by region.

To donate, an account must have Tip Jar enabled, which can be identitfied by a Tip Jar icon next to the Follow button on a profile page. Users can tap the icon and a list of payment services or platforms that the account has activated will appear. Users can then select the payment service or the platform that they prefer and they’ll be redirected to the selected app.

“Tip Jar is an easy way to support the incredible voices that make up the conversation on Twitter,” the company said. “This is a first step in our work to create new ways for people to receive and show support on Twitter, with money,” adding that it would welcome feedback to improve the service. 

The feature could be useful to independent musicians who use Bandcamp and Patreon. Twitter says it aims to support big voices on the platform with the service. However, the biggest musicians on Twitter in terms of followers are not necessarily the ones using Bandcamp or Patreon.

Meanwhile, in March, a number of music bodies in the US, including the Recording Industry Association of America, the National Music Publishers’ Association and the American Association of Independent Music, all slammed Twitter for failing to address the rampant theft of creative works on its platform. The entities jointly wrote an open letter that was delivered to lawmakers ahead of Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey’s appearance before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

“While Twitter publicly claims to support artists and creativity, in the real world, it erects almost insurmountable obstacles to artists and creators trying to protect their work online,” the letter reads. “We believe there is much to be learned from the gaping disconnect between Twitter’s lofty promises to artists and its heavy-handed and inadequate actions.”