For years, brands paid creators a one-off fee to produce authentic-looking videos. The brand kept the content and, if it performed, the sales.
TikTok Shop has changed the deal. Why hand a high-performing video to a brand when you could post it yourself and earn commission from every sale?
UGC is not disappearing, but the traditional UGC creator could soon be replaced by something more commercial: the performance creator.
UGC was built for a different social media era
UGC worked because it did not look like advertising. Filmed in bedrooms and bathrooms, it felt personal, relatable and native to the feed.
Then every brand started doing it.
Audiences now recognise the familiar hooks, scripted reactions and carefully placed products. UGC may still look casual, but it no longer always feels organic.
TikTok Shop has changed the incentive
Under the traditional model, creators are paid a fixed fee whether their video generates £500 or £500,000 in sales.
TikTok Shop offers something different. Creators can choose a product, post it to their own audience and earn commission from every sale. The better the content performs, the more they earn.
Content is no longer just a deliverable. It is a revenue stream.
For creators who understand attention and conversion, one successful affiliate video could continue earning long after a UGC invoice has been paid.
The creator is becoming the media channel
Traditional UGC separates creation from distribution. The creator produces the asset, while the brand controls where it appears and benefits from its performance.
TikTok Shop brings everything together.
The creator becomes the creative team, distribution channel, salesperson and commercial partner. The most valuable creators may no longer be those with the biggest followings or most polished portfolios, but those who consistently turn attention into sales.
UGC will evolve, not disappear
Brands will still need commissioned content for social media, product launches and wider campaigns. Some creators will also prefer the certainty of an upfront fee.
What may fade is the traditional UGC role built around producing batches of videos for one-off payments.
Instead, more creators are negotiating hybrid deals combining content fees with commission, licensing or performance bonuses. They are being rewarded not only for what they create, but for what it sells.
Brands will need to offer more
If creators can earn more by posting products themselves, a one-off fee may no longer attract the best talent.
Brands and agencies will need to build partnerships that give creators a meaningful share in the results through stronger commissions, paid amplification, creative freedom and performance bonuses.
The end of the UGC creator?
In three years, relatable product videos will still fill our feeds. But the business model behind them could look very different.
The future belongs to creators who own their distribution, understand conversion and share in the value they create.
