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(Bloomberg) -- Substack Inc., the newsletter platform popular with independent writers, is launching a $20 million fund to lure creators from TikTok and other social-media outlets.

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The Substack Creator Accelerator Fund aims to help online personalities expand their reach and business through use of the platform’s publishing, community and discovery tools, according to a statement Thursday.

TikTok’s owner, Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., is under pressure to sell or shut down the social-media service to comply with US legislation. Creators face a risk they’ll lose their source of income, while the controversy suggests that other media outlets have an opportunity to poach talent.

“The recent tumult of social platforms — facing bans, backlash and policies that change with the political winds — has highlighted the challenges creators face: They cannot rely on social media alone to build their audience or their business,” Substack wrote in the announcement.

The Substack Creator Accelerator Fund will pay content creators to move their paid subscription audiences exclusively to Substack. The program will pay 100% of the revenue creators were making on their previous platform for the first year.

Substack has attracted thousands of independent writers, journalists and creators over the years by offering them the ability to monetize their content through paid newsletters.

Many social-media creators rely on brand deals, where advertisers pay them to market their products and services. But that income can be unsteady and volatile. By directing their followers to third-party platforms like Substack, creators can earn more regular income by charging monthly subscription fees for access to exclusive content.

Substack’s new creator fund will require participants to close accounts on rival platforms where they already have a subscription business. Creators must be based in the US and make at least $2,000 in monthly recurring revenue to qualify.

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