Tumblr Goes After Livestreaming Market With ‘Tumblr Live’

It might not pose a huge challenge to TikTok or Twitch, but live streaming is coming to Tumblr(Opens in a new window) via a new service called Tumblr Live.

The feature, powered by the video platform Livebox, is currently being rolled out to US users on iOS and Android, with a wider global and desktop release planned at an unspecified later date.

Tumblr Live is marketed by the company as an opportunity for content creators to earn money while giving fans a new way to interact with their favorite creators.

The streaming feature is accessible through clicking the Live tab, similar to TikTok’s TikTokLive, with users being able to find specific blogs by using the magnifying glass icon or by visiting the Trending, Nearby, Favorites, New, or Leaderboard tabs. 

This is the first instance of native livestreaming capability on the platform, though as The Verge reports(Opens in a new window), Tumblr has allowed people to share streams from YouTube in the past. 

Tumblr Live will allow users to tip streamers using a virtual currency called “Diamonds.” Livestreaming can be difficult to moderate, but Tumblr says streamers can designate trusted viewers as moderators, while Livebox provides AI and human-powered moderation.

The platform will not allow streamers to play copyrighted music in the background of a stream. Instead, they must play royalty-free music or risk a strike against their account. Streamers are currently only allowed to stream from a primary blog; secondary or side blogs are not supported by the livestream feature.

The move comes as Tumblr’s owner Automattic, which purchased the platform from Verizon in 2019, is attempting to entice users back to the platform, which lost a sizeable chunk of its user base when it decided to ban adult content on the site in 2018. And while Tumblr last month started allowing users to post nudes again, its ban against porn remains in effect.