YouTube video-sharing service revealed on Monday that it will start sharing advertising revenue with the creators of short videos (Shorts), as of February 1.
In preparation for the upcoming change, YouTube has started rolling out new terms for creators who want to join the YouTube Partner Program. Existing content creators must accept the new terms by July 10 to remain in the program.
The major change to the YouTube Partner Program will allow creators to earn money from ads that appear between videos in their Shorts feed.
YouTube says it expects recipients of the Shorts Fund to earn through the new revenue-sharing model, although this model will replace the existing fund.
As previously announced, creators can apply to join the Partner Program if they meet a new short-form video limit: 1,000 subscribers and 10 million short-form video views over a 90-day period. As part of the new terms, content creators must accept certain units in order to monetize.
The first module is called the Watch Page Monetization Module, and it allows creators to earn money from ads shown on their long-form videos and from the paid service (YouTube Premium).
The second module is called the Shorts Monetization Module, and it allows content creators to earn money from ads that appear between short videos in their Shorts Feed and YouTube Premium.
The third and final module is called the Commerce Product Addendum, and it’s dedicated to features like Channel Memberships and Supers.
YouTube recommends that creators accept all modules to “unleash the platform’s full monetization potential”.
Creators who make short videos and who have accepted the Shorts Monetization Module will be eligible to share Shorts ad revenue on views of short videos starting next month.
A portion of the total revenue will be allocated to the creator group based on views and the use of background audio across all short videos viewed.
If a creator uploads a short clip without audio, all revenue associated with viewing it goes to them, but if a creator uploads a clip with background audio, the revenue based on the views is split between the creator and the music partners based on the number of tracks used.
Please note that non-original short videos are not eligible for revenue sharing, including unedited clips from movies or TV shows, re-uploads from other creators on YouTube or any other platform, or compilations without original content added.
It is also stated that short clips that receive false views, such as automated clicks or scrolling bots, are also not eligible for revenue sharing.
With these upcoming changes, YouTube’s short video service is poised to become the biggest competitor to TikTok, especially if content creators can earn more money through Shorts than TikTok, which motivates them to create more original content for YouTube.
This, and no platform for short videos has figured out how to share advertising revenue yet, giving YouTube a prominent role in the competition.
