Photo Credit: YouTube
YouTube is introducing several changes for creators to keep itself relevant among TikTok dominance. Here’s a quick recap of the changes YouTube announced at its inaugural Made on YouTube event.
YouTube says these announcements reflect the diversity of the platform and its creator community. It has over two million creators monetizing their videos across YouTube–some of these changes are aimed at increasing that number directly.
Expand Access to YouTube Partner Program (YPP)
Starting in early 2023, YouTube Shorts-focused creators can apply to the YPP with the following requirements:
- 1,000 subscribers
- 10 million YouTube Shorts views over 90 days
YouTube says these new partners will enjoy the full benefits of the YPP, including ads monetization across both Shorts and long-form YouTube videos. Long-form content creators may still apply for the program once they reach 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours accumulated.
That’s quite the milestone, especially for someone brand new to the platform, though. YouTube says it will also introduce a new level of YPP with lower requirements that will offer earlier access to ‘fan funding’ features like Super Thanks, Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Channel Memberships.
New Revenue-Sharing Model for YouTube Shorts
YouTube says its Shorts platform has managed to achieve 30 billion daily views and 1.5 billion monthly logged-in users. YouTube will begin moving away from its fixed Creator Fund model in early 2023 and will introduce a new revenue-sharing model for YouTube Shorts.
“Because ads run between videos in the Shorts Feed, every month, revenue from these ads will be added together and used to reward Shorts creators and help cover costs of music licensing,” YouTube says. “From the overall amount allocated to creators, they will keep 45% of the revenue, distributed based on their share of total Shorts views. The revenue share remains the same, no matter if they use the music or not.”
Launching Creator Music
YouTube is launching a new program in 2023 that aims to allow long-form video creators access to licensed music. Creators can buy affordable, high-quality music licenses offering them full monetizing potential. For creators who don’t want to buy a music license, they can use the songs in the catalog and split the revenue with the music’s rights holders.
“The YouTube Partner Program was revolutionary when we launched it back in 2007, and it’s still revolutionary today,” says Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube. “Over the last three years, YouTube has paid creators, artists, and media companies more than $50 billion dollars.”
“That $50 billion dollars has changed the lives of creators around the world and enabled new voices and stories to be told,” she continues. “But we’re not done yet. When we introduced the YPP, we made a big bet: we succeed only when our creators succeed. And today, we’re doubling down. We’re introducing the next chapter in how we reward creativity on our platform by expanding access to the YPP.”