No short form video platform has quite figured out how to share ad revenue yet, making it difficult for creators on apps like TikTok to make a living from their content alone. But today, YouTube announced major changes to its YouTube Partner Program, allowing creators to earn ad revenue on Shorts, its TikTok competitor.
Now, Shorts creators can qualify for the Partner Program, which allows creators to earn ad revenue from YouTube. The existing Partner Program requires YouTubers to have over 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the last year. Now, Shorts creators can join the Partner Program if they have at least 10 million views on the platform over the last 90 days. As members of the Partner Program, these creators will earn 45% of ad revenue from their videos.
“I’m proud to say this is the first time real revenue sharing is being offered for short form video on any platform at scale,” said YouTube Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan. He’s right. TikTok has started experimenting with ad revenue sharing, but its efforts seem to focus more on the advertiser than the creator, as only the top 4% of all videos on TikTok can be monetized through its TikTok Pulse program. For the most part, creators have found it increasingly difficult to make money from TikTok’s Creator Fund.
“Let me be very clear, nothing is changing in terms of the importance of long form,” said Tara Walpert Levy, a YouTube VP working on content partnerships. “We are equally committed to all of the formats that help creators express themselves.”
YouTube also shared that this update to the Partner Program will enable the platform to license more music for use in Shorts, which could help encourage creators to use Shorts more often. Creators in the program will be compensated the same, regardless of whether they use licensed music.
This story is developing…
YouTube targets TikTok with revenue sharing for Shorts, Partner Program expansion by Amanda Silberling originally published on TechCrunch
