This is the most important page to understand, whether you’re a creator earning or a brand paying. It explains how a posted video turns into a payout, and clears up the two questions everyone asks: “why is my amount an estimate?” and “why am I paid on one platform instead of the total?”
This page is the canonical reference for how a payout amount is calculated. Wherever the rest of the docs mention the view-accumulation window, payout groups, or the best-group rule, they’re pointing here: this is where the exact mechanics (and the worked example) live.

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The lifecycle of a tracked video

1

The video is published and its link is confirmed

Once you post the approved content and add the published link, the video becomes Published and NewWave starts tracking that post. Each platform a video is posted on is tracked separately.
2

NewWave samples views over time

NewWave repeatedly reads the post’s public view count (and likes/comments where the platform reports them), recording one sample each time. This builds the view history behind your analytics charts and your payout. You never report numbers manually.
3

Earnings accrue during the view-accumulation window

Every video earns for a fixed view-accumulation window, 14 days by default, set per campaign by the brand. The window starts when you post. While it is open, the video is Earning, and the amount shown is a live estimate marked with a ~.
4

The window closes and views freeze

When the window ends, NewWave takes a final reading and freezes the view counts. The estimate stops moving and becomes the locked-in payout. (For Facebook, this final reading also captures full likes/comments, which aren’t available mid-campaign.)
5

The payout is calculated from your best group

NewWave groups the video’s platforms into payout groups, sums views within each group, and pays on the single highest group: not the total across all platforms (explained below).
6

The next payout run credits the money

Each campaign has a payout schedule: daily, weekly on chosen days, or monthly. A video is paid on the first run after its window closes, not on the day it closes. On a campaign that pays weekly on Sundays, a video whose window shuts on Monday is credited that Sunday. Once the run fires and the creator’s payout account is ready, the frozen amount is transferred, the video shows as Credited, and the money moves into the creator’s withdrawable balance.Your payments page groups videos by the run that pays them and names its date, so everything under one heading arrives together.On campaigns with progressive payouts, part of this happens earlier: each time the campaign’s payout schedule runs, the creator is paid what their views have earned so far, and the final run at the window close settles the remainder. See progressive payouts below.

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Progressive payouts

Some campaigns pay progressively instead of once at the end. The rules:
  • On the campaign’s existing payout schedule (daily, weekly, or specific weekdays), each run pays every video the difference between what its views have earned so far and what has already been paid. A video can therefore receive several payments during its accumulation window: each one appears in the creator’s activity.
  • The window, the payout formula, and the final amount are unchanged. Only the timing moves: money arrives as views accrue instead of all at once when the window closes.
  • While the window is open, the creator’s settlement view shows the amount paid so far next to the estimated remainder. The estimate still carries a ~ and moves with views.
  • The amount already paid never goes back down. If a platform revises views downward, the remaining payments simply shrink; nothing is taken back.
  • The final run at the window close pays whatever remains and marks the video Credited, exactly as before.
Whether a campaign pays progressively is set per campaign. Brands can ask support to switch a campaign either way; videos mid-window are unaffected by a switch and always settle their remainder normally.

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Accruing vs. settled

This single distinction answers most payout questions.

Accruing (Earning)

The video’s window is still open. Its earnings are a live estimate that rises as views come in, shown with a ~ and labeled “still counting views.” Not yet money in the bank.

Settled (Credited)

The window has closed, the amount is locked in, and the payout has been finalized and transferred. Real money, no longer an estimate.
A video can also be Pending (frozen and finalized, but not yet transferred: “available soon”) or Skipped (it earned nothing, so it’s set aside rather than paid $0).
Because any single in-progress video makes the total uncertain, a campaign’s earnings total is shown with a ~ whenever any video is still accruing, so an estimate can never be mistaken for money already owed.

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The four platforms and “payout groups”

NewWave tracks four platforms: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, and a video can be posted to any combination of them. For payout, platforms are bucketed into payout groups: Facebook’s views fold into the Instagram group: NewWave treats a Facebook post as the same cross-posted content layered on top of Instagram, so their views combine into one “FB + IG” bucket. TikTok and YouTube each stand on their own.

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The best-group rule

You’re paid on your single best-performing payout group’s views: not the sum of all platforms.
This is the rule that surprises people, so here’s a worked example. Say one video earns:
  • TikTok: 40,000 views
  • Instagram: 15,000 views
  • Facebook: 10,000 views
  • YouTube: 8,000 views
NewWave sums within each group → TikTok 40,000, Instagram + Facebook 25,000, YouTube 8,000 → and pays on the highest group, 40,000 views. The other groups don’t stack on top.
Cross-posting the same video everywhere does not multiply your pay. What it does is give you more chances for one group to be your strongest, and your strongest group is what you’re paid on. There’s no separate cash bonus for posting to more places.

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Facebook is “views-only” during a campaign

Facebook reliably reports view counts but not likes and comments while a campaign is running, so Facebook engagement shows as 0 mid-campaign. This is intentional, not a bug, and your Facebook views still count fully toward your view totals and payout. Full Facebook engagement is captured at the end, when views freeze.

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Warm-up videos

Some campaigns include a warm-up video as an early step. A warm-up pays a fixed amount set by the campaign rather than a views-based amount, and is flagged with a “Warm Up” badge in your settlement view.

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Quick answers

That video is still inside its view-accumulation window (14 days by default), so the amount is a live estimate marked with ~. It grows as views come in and locks in when the window closes.
A closed window means the amount is final, not that it has been paid. Payment happens on the campaign’s next payout run, and campaigns can run daily, weekly, or monthly. Your payments page shows the date under a heading like “Pays out Sun, Aug 30”, and every video under that heading is paid together on that run. On a campaign with progressive payouts that heading is the next run rather than the one after your window closes, because those campaigns pay you at every run.
Payout uses your single best payout group’s views. Posting to more platforms gives you more chances at a strong group, but you aren’t paid the sum across all of them. Facebook and Instagram combine into one group; TikTok and YouTube each stand alone.
Facebook only exposes view counts during a campaign; likes and comments are captured at the very end. Your views count fully toward payout the whole time.
On most campaigns: after the video’s window closes (default 14 days from when you posted) and your campaign’s next payout run processes it and your payout account is set up. The schedule is per campaign, so that run can be daily, weekly on chosen days, or monthly. On campaigns with progressive payouts, you’re paid along the way: each scheduled run pays what your views have earned since the last payment, and the final run at the window close pays the remainder.
The campaign pays progressively: each payout run pays what your views have earned since the last payment. The payments add up to exactly what the video earns: same total, sooner.
Your payout follows the terms you signed for that campaign. If your deal is CPM-based, amounts track your exact view count: 2,172 views at 4CPMpays4 CPM pays 8.69. On progressive campaigns each payment is also only the amount earned since the previous payment, which is rarely a round number.
It earned nothing for that period. For example, it may not have reached the campaign’s lowest paying threshold, so it’s set aside instead of paying $0.

Creators: earnings & getting paid

Balances, accruing vs. settled in your wallet, and withdrawing.

Brands: tracking & paying creators

The payouts table, per-platform views, and settlement from the brand side.