In a surprising move from the massive video platform, YouTube has announced that it would be lowering the requirements for its YouTube Partner Program, which will make it easier for content creators to monetize their content.
Under these new requirements, YouTubers will be eligible to apply for partnership at 500 subscribers, a 50% cut from the previous 1,000 needed. Other requirements will also be lowered, such as creators only needing 3,000 valid watch hours instead of 4,000, as well as 3 million YouTube Shorts views compared to 10 million before.
According to The Verge, the site is also “opening up a handful of monetization methods to smaller creators, including paid chat, tipping, channel memberships, and shopping features.”
The shopping affiliate program is especially interesting. It was previously only available by invitation to select creators, but thanks to these sweeping changes, YouTube Partner Program participants in the US with at least 20,000 subscribers can now apply to it.
These changes will be initially rolling out in the US, UK, Canada, Taiwan, and South Korea, with plans to increase the number of regions later on.
YouTube is actually doing some good (TikTok too!)
YouTube has been rolling out some pro-creator and user-friendly changes to its site as of late. Some of these include retiring overlaying banner ads on the desktop version, YouTube Premium for iOS getting better quality videos, and harnessing the power of AI to create real-time translations for its videos.
While some changes have been well received, like the feature that lets viewers see the most-watched parts of a video via a clear graph, others, like the site's continuous attempt to block ad-blockers, have been less popular.
Regardless, it’s good to see that YouTube is working to actively improve the experience. And it’s not only YouTube, as other social media platforms like TikTok have been working to make similar quality-of-life changes.
For instance, The Verge details how TikTok’s “video paywall feature, Series, would be available to creators with more than 10,000 followers but that users with 1,000 followers who met other requirements could also apply to participate in the program.”
It’s good to see some positive news surrounding these sites, and fingers crossed that YouTube doesn’t end up in some serious hot water soon after this announcement. I’m afraid it’s a little too late for TikTok, though.
If you want to see how to make money using YouTube, or how to create a YouTube channel, we have you covered! Also, make sure you check out our best webcams guide as well.
