4
0Short-video content inches into pay mode
短视频内容渐入付费模式
Zhang Jiayi, a 28-year-old working at a fashion magazine in Beijing, loves to upload original videos that portray a slice of her everyday life and also watch funny clips posted by others on video-sharing platforms.
28岁的张嘉怡（音译）在北京一家时尚杂志社工作，她喜欢上传反映自己日常生活片段的原创视频，也喜欢观看其他人在视频分享平台上发布的搞笑片段。
"My free time tends to be fragmented and short, so browsing short videos is the perfect fit when I take the metro," Zhang, who recently discovered that she had to pay a certain fee to watch some short videos, said.
“我的空闲时间往往比较碎片化和短暂，所以在乘坐地铁时浏览短视频是最合适的。”她表示，但最近发现自己需要支付一定费用才能观看一些短视频。
"I am not sure whether I will pay for such videos. It depends on the topic and quality of content, and if I am really very interested in the content, I might spend money on it."
“我不确定我是否会花钱看这样的视频。这取决于内容主题和质量，如果我真的对内容很感兴趣，我可能会花钱。”
Chinese video-sharing platform Douyin, owned by tech heavyweight ByteDance, has started testing a pay-to-watch feature where users must pay to unlock full content for some videos on the platform. This is part of the company's effort to explore new revenue streams and diversify its monetization avenues.
科技巨头字节跳动旗下的中国视频分享平台抖音已开始测试付费观看功能，用户必须付费才能解锁该平台上某些视频的完整内容。这是该公司探索新收入来源和实现变现途径多元化努力的一部分。
Content creators, who own at least 100,000 followers and have completed real-name authentication of their accounts with no violation records for 90 days, have been allowed to provide paid videos for users, according to Douyin.
据抖音介绍，拥有10万粉丝以上、账号实名认证、90天内无违规记录的内容创作者可以为用户提供付费视频。
Viewers can access a preview of the paid content before making the payment and watch it repeatedly within seven days of purchase. To protect paying users, creators cannot delete the paid content, while Douyin will charge some fees as commission.
观众可以在付款前预览付费内容，并在购买后7天内重复观看。为保护付费用户，创作者不能删除付费内容，而抖音会收取一些手续费。
Douyin said the content creators will decide whether or not to activate the paid feature for their videos, and that the platform will not intervene.
抖音表示，是否开通视频付费功能将由内容创作者决定，平台不会干预。
Ma Shicong, an analyst with Beijing-based internet consultancy Analysys, said, "The launch of paid short videos will bring stable revenue sources for content creators, stimulate them to produce high-quality content, and improve the content ecosystem for short video platforms."
北京互联网咨询公司易观分析的分析师马世聪表示：“付费短视频的推出将为内容创作者带来稳定的收入来源，刺激他们生产高质量的内容，并完善短视频平台的内容生态系统。”
However, it will take some time to cultivate the paying habit of users as, currently, most prefer to watch short videos free of charge, Ma said.
马世聪表示然而培养用户的付费习惯还需要一段时间，因为目前大多数人更喜欢免费观看短视频。
Greater effort is required to enhance the quality of content and explore diversified monetization models, including advertisements and livestreaming e-commerce, Ma added.
马世聪补充道，需要加大力度提升内容质量，探索包括广告、直播电商在内的多元化变现模式。
The competition in the short video industry will be more intense in future, and users of long video platforms such as Tencent Video and iQiyi will be lured away.
未来短视频行业的竞争将更加激烈，腾讯视频、爱奇艺等长视频平台的用户将被抢走。
Zhang Yi, CEO and principal analyst of consultancy iiMedia Research, said short video platforms are stepping up efforts to explore multiple monetization methods, and improve the quality and quantity of original content.
艾媒咨询首席执行官兼首席分析师张毅表示，短视频平台正加紧探索多种变现方式，提高原创内容的质量和数量。
Whether such an attempt will work or not depends on users' acceptance of paid short videos, and whether the creator and platform can provide attractive and high-quality content continuously, Zhang said.
张毅表示，这种尝试是否有效，取决于用户对付费短视频的接受程度，以及创作者和平台能否持续提供有吸引力的优质内容。
