In the latest push to keep up with industry titan TikTok, YouTube have announced that in early 2023 they will be monetising shorts.
This development is likely an attempt to stop creators leaving the platform en masse for more lucrative apps like TikTok and Twitch.
YouTube’s bid for content creators loyalty will offer 45% of all revenue generated from ads to creators, bringing revenue sharing to YouTube.
What are YouTube Shorts?
If you’ve been living under a rock, YouTube Shorts are YouTube’s answer to TikTok.
YouTube describes Short’s as the spot to shoot, share and binge short videos (think 60 seconds or less) on YouTube. It’s where you can go to start trends, try out a dance challenge, bring your hilarious ideas to life, and more.
However, while short form video has been wildly popular on TikTok and moderately successful on Instagram, Shorts on YouTube have flopped.
Will monetisation be the magic solution to YouTube Shorts poor uptake?
How will monetisation work?
From early 2023, content creators in the YouTube Partner Programme will be able to monetise their Shorts.
For the very first time, creators will be able to make money from the ads that run between videos in the Shorts feed, offering a huge incentive for creators to stay on the platform.
This is a significant improvement from the previous monetisation ‘option’ available to creators, where they had to meet an eligibility criteria to be in with the chance to receive a bonus from the YouTube Shorts fund each month.
With the new monetisation option, every month YouTube Shorts creators will get to keep 45% of the ad revenue generated that month, distributed between creators based on their Shorts views.
This is great news for the wallets of the creator community, with YouTube projecting
that Shorts Fund recipients will “earn more money under this new model, which was built for long term sustainability. Instead of a fixed fund, we’re doubling down on the revenue sharing model that has supercharged the creator economy and enabled creators to benefit from the platform’s success.”
The more ad revenue Shorts generate as a whole, the more the creator community will be paid, incentivising the adoption and use of YouTube Shorts. Pretty sweet!
