X adds video clipping tool, pays creators and clippers from views

The latest:

X rolled out a clipping tool on Monday that lets users cut a moment out of any video on the platform, add commentary, and post it without leaving the site. The company said both the original creator and the clipper can earn from views on the clip through its Original Content Rewards program. Each clip carries a label linking back to the source video.

Details:

• What it does: The tool functions as a straightforward video-trimming feature, according to TechCrunch, letting users select a segment of an existing video, attach their own take, and publish it as a native post. X did not describe editing capabilities beyond trimming.
• The attribution label: X said every clip includes a Clip from label that links back to the original video it was derived from, giving viewers a path to the creator’s profile and wider catalogue. The design keeps the source creator visible on content made by someone else.
• The money: X said both creators and clippers can earn from views through Original Content Rewards, the platform’s payout program. The scheme is limited to eligible creators and pays based on specific levels of audience engagement. X has not published the eligibility thresholds in its announcement.
• The pitch: The company framed the launch around speed and retention, telling users to “Grab your favorite moment from any video, add your take, and post it without leaving X.” Keeping the editing step on-platform removes a common reason creators export content to rival apps.
• Why clipping matters: Clipping splices long videos into short, attention-optimized segments designed to maximize views and the ad revenue that follows, TechCrunch noted. Influencers frequently pay specialist firms to do it, and large companies and political campaigns have adopted the technique for marketing.
• The content strategy: X has spent several years widening the formats it supports to compete with rivals. It introduced long-form video in 2022, while still operating as Twitter, to challenge YouTube, and dropped its traditional character limit to allow long-form blog posts for premium subscribers.
• This year’s additions: In March, X launched exclusive threads, letting creators paywall portions of a thread so only subscribers can read them. In July, it opened a livestreaming studio and committed $1 million to creators who broadcast live on the platform.
• The competitive frame: The clipping push targets the same short-vertical-video territory dominated by TikTok, where the clip format was effectively standardized. X is attempting to host both the long-form original and the derivative short clip inside a single app.

Between the lines:

Paying the clipper as well as the original creator is the structural choice here. Clipping is normally outsourced to paid specialist firms, as TechCrunch noted, meaning the value currently leaves the platform. By routing payouts through Original Content Rewards, X converts an external service industry into unpaid-until-performing labor inside its own feed, and ties both sides of the transaction to engagement it measures itself.

What’s next

Watch whether X publishes eligibility thresholds and payout rates for clip-based Original Content Rewards, and whether rights holders object to third parties monetizing trimmed versions of their videos.