YouTube says it will share ad revenue with its Shorts content providers, the company’s biggest step yet into TikTok’s market.
The Google-owned video platform announced the program Tuesday at a “Made on YouTube” event in Los Angeles featuring musician Jason Derulo, choreographer Kyle Hanagami, and creators Colin and Samir. The revenue-sharing program begins in 2023.
The announcement occurred hours after another video platform, Twitch, said it would cut users’ revenues. YouTube, meanwhile, is making an apparent push to retain creators and engage growth in a format that historically did not generate revenue for users.
“We succeed only when our creators succeed,” YouTube CEO Susan Wojicicki wrote on Twitter Tuesday.
When we introduced the YouTube Partner Program, we made a big bet: we succeed only when our creators succeed. Today we’re introducing the next chapter in rewarding creativity: Creator Music, more ways to join YPP & ad revenue sharing for Shorts creators. https://t.co/NKnijY85qh
— Susan Wojcicki (@SusanWojcicki) September 20, 2022
It remains unclear how the company intends to split revenue via the platform. The money will be drawn from the YouTube Shorts Fund, a similar approach to what competitor TikTok does.
While the company has floated the idea of sharing 45% percent, the math behind the allocation of money is complicated.
OK, YouTube just announced very huge news for people in my world….they are going to start monetizing shorts and sharing the revenue and everyone (including, in some comms /YouTube itself/) is saying that creators get 45% but that’s…not true.
So let’s talk about that:
— Hank Green (@hankgreen) September 20, 2022
The company said creators will be able to apply to the revenue-sharing program if they have at least 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views over a three-month period.
Logistic quandaries aside, the move promises to be a potentially lucrative opportunity for content creators.
“This is the first-time real revenue sharing is being offered for short-term video at scale,” Neal Mohan, YouTube’s chief product officer said.
