X now has a built-in clipping tool, and both the person who posts a clip and the creator of the original video can earn from it, provided they are enrolled in the platform's Original Content Rewards program.
To make a clip, tap the repost icon, choose "Clip video," and trim the moment. Clips can run from 5 to 60 seconds, or up to 30 percent of the original, and users can add commentary. A "Clip from" label links back to the exact point in the source video. The tool is live on iOS and Android, with web access coming. For now it only works on prerecorded videos at least two minutes long.
X has not said what any of this pays. Its clipping rules list no flat rate, and no split between clipper and creator has been disclosed. Creators who would rather not be clipped have no way out yet; X said it is working on an opt-out.
The closest benchmark is the private clipping market. Marketers told Business Insider earlier this year that campaigns typically pay $1 to $4 per 1,000 views. One listing on the marketplace Whop offered $1.75 per 1,000 views for clips of a November 10 podcast appearance, or $175 before fees for 100,000 qualifying views.
That market runs on contracts: a podcaster sets terms and pays clippers directly. X is offering to replace that arrangement with a platform program, which is convenient but makes enrollment, and X's undisclosed rates, the deciding factors. A creator who already pays clippers $1.75 per 1,000 views will want to see X's number before switching anything over.
The move also runs against YouTube, which said in October that it is changing Shorts recommendations to give less reach to reposts that add little to the original. X is betting that low-effort clips are worth paying for, because each one links back to a full video on its platform. YouTube is betting they are not. Which approach holds up depends on whether clips send viewers to the originals or simply replace them.