The Google-owned giant is putting the squeeze on rival video platform TikTok by launching revenue-sharing for YouTube Shorts.
YouTube has unveiled a new way for creators to monetize Shorts, a change aimed at making the short-form videos more lucrative for some of the biggest stars and aspiring talent on the internet.
The move is arguably YouTube’s biggest swing yet at TikTok, a rival video giant from China that is, as some say, eating the lunch of American social media companies—snapping up U.S.-based creators and audiences in the intensifying platform war.
Starting next year, eligible YouTube creators will be able to keep a more sizable portion of monthly ad revenue coming from Shorts, executives announced Tuesday at “Made on YouTube,” an event in Los Angeles that featured speakers including singer Jason Derulo, online personalities Colin and Samir, famed choreographer Kyle Hanagami and hair-stylist-turned-viral-entertainer Kris Collins. They will split that revenue with the music partners whose songs are used in the videos. (How much, exactly, creators will pocket is unclear: YouTube’s messaging has led some to believe posters will keep 45% of their ad revenue from Shorts, but as VidCon creator Hank Green astutely pointed out on Twitter, they will take home a slice of that dependent on overall views.)
“YouTube’s success has been built on long-form and live streaming,” the company’s chief product officer, Neal Mohan, told the audience, but “we want to support creators in all the ways they’re using YouTube to tell their stories, including the mobile-first generation of creators making YouTube Shorts.”
Similar to the TikTok Creator Fund, YouTube has been rewarding the creators behind its quick-hit videos through the YouTube Shorts Fund. But because the cash in these buckets is limited, payouts have become smaller as the platforms have grown in size. This new revenue-sharing for Shorts, through YouTube’s Partner Program, is intended to be a more permanent, scalable alternative. “Creator funds can't keep up with the incredible growth that we're seeing in short-form video,” Mohan said Tuesday, noting that most Shorts Fund recipients are expected to earn more money under the new model. Tara Walpert Levy, YouTube’s vice president of the Americas and global content, added that the revenue-sharing plan “ensures that as the platform and community grows, you will continue to grow with us.”
Walpert Levy said the changes were prompted by the platform’s desire to give people producing short videos the same opportunity for financial success as those sharing long ones, which have historically been YouTube’s bread and butter. But asked by Forbes how YouTube leadership is thinking about TikTok’s aggressive expansion in the U.S., and whether monetization of YouTube Shorts will provide more upside for creators than TikTok videos do, she dodged the question. She said only that it’s a competitive environment and that “we want to be the home for creators,” which means offering “the broadest suite of ways people can express themselves.” Attendee (and Forbes 30 Under 30 alum) Kris Collins, who took the stage to praise YouTube’s new initiative, notably has just 7 million followers on YouTube—and nearly 47 million on TikTok.
Former music industry titan Lyor Cohen, who served as a president of Def Jam and executive of Warner Music Group before becoming Google and YouTube’s global head of music, also shared the company’s plans for helping creators find and employ popular songs in their videos. Through Creator Music, users will be able to browse an expansive catalog of songs where they can choose to buy licenses for that music upfront or elect a revenue-sharing option that’ll allow creators to split their profits with the artists and songwriters. "Collaboration between creators and artists and songwriters will unlock new revenue opportunities for all of them, while connecting viewers with their favorite music,” Cohen said. “That's what I call a real win-win-win.”
Derulo applauded the project, which is currently in beta and set to launch in the U.S. this fall. "The people that are deciding the pulse and the culture and successful songs are the kids coming up on social media,” he told the audience. "I want my music to be on your page. … I can be seen and heard by way more people.”
Creators Colin and Samir characterized these YouTube announcements as among the most significant since they became active on the platform a decade ago. Before Shorts were tied to revenue, they were largely a way for creators to reach new viewers and then convert them to subscribers of their longer content which generated ad revenue, Colin and Samir explained. But with the coming revenue-sharing model, Shorts will become lucrative on their own. Colin and Samir called it “liberating” to be able to have top-performing videos that are 20 seconds or 2 hours long, and to be able to earn through both formats.
"This is a huge incentive for me to put all of my work into one place,” Collins said.
“Other platforms are focused on getting people their 15 seconds of fame,” she added without naming names. “Which is great. But YouTube is taking a different approach. They're helping creators make stuff in multiple formats, they're removing restrictions, and they're supporting creativity, no matter what form it takes. And this is a huge deal for creators like me.”
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September 21, 2022 at 07:43AM
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YouTube Targets TikTok With Monetization For Creators' Short Videos - Forbes
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