TikTok LIVE glossary: Creator Network, Diamonds, Gifts
Where TikTok defines a term, the definition below is TikTok's, quoted and linked. Where it does not, we say so.
TikTok LIVE Creator Network
TikTok's current name for the businesses that support LIVE creators. “TikTok LIVE Creator Networks are agency experts who help creators thrive and fulfill their dreams on TikTok LIVE.” They are “independent third-party businesses that operate on the TikTok platform on their own behalf.” Source: TikTok — TikTok LIVE Creator Networks, accessed 2026-09-17. Creators usually say “LIVE agency.”
LIVE agency
The everyday term for a Creator Network. TikTok's own blog uses “agency” informally (for example, “TikTok LIVE Agency Invitation”). Same thing. Source: TikTok LIVE Creator Networks blog — TikTok LIVE Agency Invitation, page dated 2026-08-05, accessed 2026-09-17.
MCN / influencer-marketing agency
A different business: a multi-channel network or influencer agency connects creators with brand campaigns and TikTok Shop programs and typically earns a share of those deals. Some companies run both an MCN and a LIVE Creator Network. TikTok does not define “MCN” on the pages we cite.
LIVE Backstage
“LIVE Backstage is your all-in-one solution for operation. It allows you to operate your creators, track real-time performance metrics, such as Diamonds and active hours, analyze viewer engagement, manage contracts, and review monthly bonuses and payouts, etc.” TikTok calls it “the official operation platform for Creator Networks.” Source: TikTok — TikTok LIVE Creator Networks, accessed 2026-09-17.
Agency invitation
“TikTok LIVE Creator Networks use agency invitations to connect with creators and invite them to explore collaboration.” It arrives inside the TikTok app; the creator reviews and decides. Invitations are quota-limited and expire. Source: TikTok LIVE Creator Networks blog — TikTok LIVE Agency Invitation, page dated 2026-08-05, accessed 2026-09-17.
Creator Network certification
An in-app marker on a network's linked scouting account: “In LIVE Backstage, Creator Networks can link an official TikTok account for creator scouting. Once linked, the account displays the Creator Network certification and serves as a direct communication channel.” It marks the account, not the business, and is the only verification surface TikTok describes. Source: TikTok LIVE Creator Networks blog — LIVE Backstage creator onboarding, page dated 2026-09-07, accessed 2026-09-17.
Diamonds
“TikTok uses Diamonds to recognize a user's popularity and ranking on the Platform … Users collect Diamonds based on the level of viewer engagement their content receives.” Diamonds are Virtual Items: “Virtual Items cannot be exchanged for cash or used as currency.” Source: TikTok — Virtual Items Policy (United States), page dated 2026-01-22, accessed 2026-09-17.
Coins
“Coins are digital items that can be used on the Platform to access or activate other Virtual Items or services offered by TikTok USDS Joint Venture.” Viewers buy Coins; creators do not. Source: TikTok — Virtual Items Policy (United States), page dated 2026-01-22, accessed 2026-09-17.
LIVE Gifts
“The type and number of Gifts activated in a LIVE is used by TikTok to determine the popularity of content and a user (which TikTok measures in Diamonds).” A creator needs access to LIVE Gifts before collecting Diamonds. Source: TikTok — Virtual Items Policy (United States), page dated 2026-01-22, accessed 2026-09-17. Source: TikTok LIVE Creator Networks blog — TikTok LIVE monetization requirements, page dated 2026-06-23, accessed 2026-09-17.
Rewards / Reward Payment
The money side. Under TikTok's U.S. Rewards Policy, Reward Payments depend on factors including “your popularity on the Platform (measured in Diamonds collected), LIVE duration, the number of new unique followers while you are LIVE, viewer engagement, the number of days you have gone LIVE, your league or ranking, and the quality and safety of your LIVE content,” are “calculated in USD,” and are discretionary: “Meeting eligibility requirements does not guarantee your participation in any Rewards Program.” Source: TikTok — Rewards Policy (United States), page dated 2026-01-22, accessed 2026-09-17.
Stream key / LIVE Studio
A credential that lets a creator stream from desktop software rather than the phone app. TikTok does not define the term on the pages we cite; availability to networked creators is decided by TikTok per market. Any network promising a stream key to everyone is overpromising.
Battles / matches
Head-to-head LIVE sessions where two creators compete for Gifts. Not defined on the TikTok pages we cite; commonly organized within and between networks.
“Top LIVE agency” (TikTok Shop program)
A different program from LIVE Creator Networks. TikTok Shop's Seller University defines Top LIVE agencies as “creator agencies with strong LIVE-streaming capabilities and the ability to provide physical spaces” that “receive official authorization and support from TikTok,” found in the app under “TikTok Shop Creator Center → TikTok Shop Toolkit → Top LIVE agencies.” It concerns LIVE shopping (selling products), not LIVE gifting; applications are valid for 7 days and a creator can be linked with one such agency at a time. Source: TikTok Shop Seller University (US) — Top LIVE agencies for Creator (TikTok Shop Academy), page dated 2025-04-02, accessed 2026-09-17. An agency in that program may accurately describe that authorization; a LIVE Creator Network may not borrow the wording. We are a Creator Network, not a TikTok Shop Top LIVE agency.
TikTok Marketing Partner
A separate badged program for advertising, creative, measurement and commerce partners run by TikTok for Business. Being a LIVE Creator Network does not make a company a Marketing Partner, and vice versa.