As of right (checks watch) now, YouTube Shorts monetization is here. With this update, creators in the YouTube Partner Program can get a cut of the revenue for ads played alongside their short videos.
Competing for attention with TikTok, Instagram et. al., YouTube has been pushing hard on short-form video. Shorts monetization is the latest, most impactful YouTube Shorts effort to date.
So how does YouTube Shorts monetization work for YouTube creators? Let’s take a look.
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YouTube Shorts ad revenue sharing
Direct ad revenue sharing sets YouTube Shorts monetization apart from creator funds and other payment schemes. With this update, YouTube is the only platform that gives creators a well-deserved cut of the action. This simplifies monetization for YouTube Shorts creators and makes getting paid a bit more predictable.
Shorts monetization is available to anyone in the YouTube Partner Program. See the YouTube Partner Program help article YouTube Partner Program Eligibility for the full rundown.
Nothing has changed since we first shared that YouTube Shorts monetization was coming.
YouTube Shorts monetization requirements
- 1,000 subscribers AND
- 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months OR
- 10M views on Shorts videos in the last 90 days
Shorts watch time does not count toward overall channel watch time. That has been frustrating, especially for smaller scale creators on the platform. The monetization update doesn’t change that fact but it does make it easier to accept.
This isn’t the first time creators have been able to make money with YouTube Shorts. It is the first time creators can make money predictably. And regular, long-term, predictable payment is what creators need and deserve.
So, YouTube Shorts monetization is good news for creators. Given that creators are the ones who make the content that brings the audience, it bodes well for YouTube Shorts too.
Making longform videos into Shorts
Before this YouTube Shorts monetization update, the only reason for most long-form creators to consider Shorts was the possibility of growing their channel.
Now, creating shorts from long-form videos to get a cut of that ad revenue just makes sense. But how? How do creators take their long-form videos and translate them into Shorts?
If only a company whose whole purpose is to help YouTube creators succeed had been thinking about this for a while. If only they saw fit to release a new feature to help creators succeed with Shorts.
Maybe it could use AI to highlight the parts of a longform video that got the most engagement. Then perhaps it could take those highlights and make Shorts recommendations and set creators up for Shorts success. Oooh! What if it gave creators timecodes and context that they would then use to either create a cutdown or better yet, a new Short? Then what if (speaking hypothetically here) it released in beta in a week and in full in like a month?
That’d be pretty cool, right?
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