Google-owned social video platform YouTube is about to make it more difficult for independent content producers who want to generate money from their service.
Starting in February, new independent content producers who apply for the YouTube Partner Program will need at least 8,000 qualified “watch hours” of their videos over the prior year or 20 million qualified views of their “Shorts” content over the course of three months to qualify for the company’s revenue sharing program, YouTube announced this week.
The new requirements mark a significant increase from current thresholds, which require 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 watch hours over the past year or 10 million Shorts views over the past 90 days.
YouTube said the changes will not immediately affect content producers who are already enrolled in the YouTube Partner Program. The company said entry thresholds for Fan Funding and shopping products will remain unchanged.
The company framed the updates as part of a broader effort to reward active creators as YouTube continues to grow across short-form video and television viewing. YouTube said the platform now generates more than 200 billion Shorts views per day and more than 1 billion hours of watch time on television screens each day.
YouTube is not hurting for money: The platform earned $11.1 billion in advertising and subscription revenue during its most-recent financial quarter, more than 13 percent of Google’s overall advertising earnings ($81.6 billion). It also regularly promotes itself as the most-watched video platform in American living rooms, something that has the backing of monthly reports issued by Nielsen that evaluate the service against broadcast channels, cable networks and premium streaming services.
The changes could make it harder for newer creators, particularly Shorts-focused channels, to begin earning money directly from YouTube’s revenue-sharing programs. At the same time, YouTube said it plans to introduce additional incentive programs tied to shopping, brand deals and trend creation for channels below the Shorts revenue threshold, which could help creators deprived of direct advertising and subscription-share revenue still earn money through affiliate commissions.
Separately, YouTube said it is rolling out its Premium Lite subscription to all markets where YouTube Premium is offered. The plan offers commercial-free streaming of non-music content.
Creators will earn money from Premium Lite through a dedicated revenue pool. YouTube said 60 percent of net Premium Lite subscription revenue will be allocated to creators, with payouts distributed based on member watch time and views.
