How Does Clipping Viral Videos Pay £120,000 a Year?

Eknoor Singh, a 22-year-old Londoner, says he clears more than £120,000 a year making short vertical videos for brands and influencers, using only a mobile phone and an internet connection, according to the BBC. The role is known in the industry as "clipping," and the pay runs on a per-view formula that can swing from a few hundred dollars to thousands depending on what goes viral.

What is a clipper, and how is one paid?

A clipper takes a longer video — supplied by a client such as a clothing brand, record label, movie studio, podcaster or influencer — and cuts it into 30- to 60-second segments for Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and other platforms, the BBC reports. Clients pay up to $3 (£2.30) per 1,000 views across those platforms, per the BBC. Singh describes the mechanics plainly: "The more views a clip gets, the more money I make."

How did the Sabrina Carpenter clip factor in?

Singer Sabrina Carpenter's reaction to having the tail of her dress stepped on at the Met Gala in New York in May became one of Singh's successful clips, the BBC reports; he did not identify the paying client behind that video. Singh says he looks for moments that are "funny, quick to watch and engaging," a description that matches the Carpenter clip and an earlier clip he made of singer Dua Lipa.

How much do top earners actually make?

Singh told the BBC he got into clipping in 2025 after a short Dua Lipa video on Instagram earned him $300, a payout that convinced him of the format's potential: "I was like, 'OK, this is a lot of money for simply posting a video. I instantly knew how lucrative it could be.'" He now says he earns "at least £10,000 a month."

A second case cited by the BBC: Ethan Weems, 24, of Wichita, Kansas, makes clips for YouTuber and podcaster Caleb Hammer, who hosts the personal-finance show Financial Audit. Weems says the work brings in "at least $1,000 a month" and lets him work from home rather than commute to an office — time he says he spends with his wife and one-year-old son.

Clipper pay, by the numbers

• Up to $3 (£2.30) per 1,000 views across platforms, per the BBC
• Singh: more than £120,000 a year; "at least £10,000 a month"
• Singh's first viral clip (Dua Lipa, 2025): $300
• Weems: "at least $1,000 a month" from clips for podcaster Caleb Hammer

Why do most clippers earn little or nothing?

Social media consultant Lia Haberman, cited by the BBC, cautions that high earners like Singh are rare. "It mirrors the creator economy more broadly. The vast majority make little to nothing," she says. Streaming industry analyst Devin Nash tells the BBC the time commitment is easy to underestimate, since successful clippers must "watch hours and hours of content, and they just live in that world." Neither analyst put a figure on what a typical or median clipper earns, and the BBC's reporting does not supply one.

Where do clippers find paying clients?

Clippers and clients connect through intermediary websites that list available video jobs, the BBC reports, ranging from general forums such as Reddit and Discord to sites dedicated specifically to clipping work. The BBC's account does not name specific job-board platforms or disclose what cut, if any, those intermediaries take from a clipper's earnings.

The demographic skew is notable: the BBC describes clippers as typically aged 16 to 25, a bracket chosen partly because clients believe younger clippers understand what will resonate with same-age audiences on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. That assumption underpins the entire pay structure — clients are effectively betting that a 22-year-old's editing instincts will outperform a brand's own in-house social team, and paying per 1,000 views to find out.

For now, the publicly documented outcomes sit at two extremes: a London clipper clearing six figures a year, and a Kansas side-hustler banking roughly $12,000 annually, with analysts warning the gap between those cases and the typical clipper is wide. Full details on clipper demographics, client budgets and typical earnings are in the BBC's original report.