DUBAI: A year after YouTube introduced revenue-sharing on Shorts, its rival short-form video service to TikTok, more than 25 percent of channels that participate in the YouTube Partner Program are earning from this revenue stream, the company said.
The platform revealed the figure on Thursday, about two weeks after the US House of Representatives passed a bill that, if signed into law, would force the China-based owners of TikTok to sell the video-sharing app or face a ban in America.
YouTube said that more than three million creators globally are part of the Shorts revenue-sharing program, and the number of channels uploading Shorts content is growing by 50 percent year-on-year.
Shorts now averages more than 70 billion daily views and its success “underscores the importance of YouTube’s multifaceted approach to creator monetization,” Tarek Amin, the director of YouTube MENA, told Arab News.
“We’re continuously building on existing opportunities and formats to provide creators with the flexibility and choice they need to grow their channels and earn revenue,” he added.
Of the creators who meet the Shorts eligibility thresholds and have joined the YouTube Partner Program, the platform said more than 80 percent are earning through other monetization features aside from revenue-sharing, such as long-form advertising, fan funding, YouTube Premium, and Shopping.
This suggests Shorts creators have the ability to diversify revenue streams, YouTube added, as a single platform is offering them the flexibility to create content in different formats and earn from multiple revenue streams.
While it did not break down any of the figures by country or region, YouTube said it had paid out $70 billion to creators, artists and media companies over the past three years, which was “more than any other creator-monetization platform,” and remains committed to investing in Shorts.
“We’re really focused on building out Shorts so that it continues to be fresh and relevant for everybody,” said Todd Sherman, product lead for YouTube Shorts.
By its very nature, Shorts content is particularly well-suited for “in-between moments,” he added, and YouTube therefore aims to build a feed capable of serving users at all times, whether they want a quick break or to relax and watch long-form content.
“This adaptability is going to be part of the future of Shorts across the board,” said Sherman.
