YouTube is lowering the requirements for creators to access to get access to monetization tools under the YouTube Partners Program (YPP). The company is expanding its shopping affiliate program to U.S.-based creators who are part of YPP and have more than 20,000 subscribers, TechCrunch reported.
According to TechCrunch, the Google-owned company said that the new conditions to be qualified for the partner program are:
- Having 500 subscribers
- 3 public uploads in the last 90 days
- And either 3,000 watch hours in the past year or 3 million Shorts views in the last 90 days
Previously, the conditions were:
- Having at least 1,000 subscribers;
- And either 4,000 watch hours in the past year or 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days.
TechCrunch noted that the three video upload per 90 days criteria is intriguing as long video creators may not have material to produce multiple videos during the time period despite gathering millions of views.
YouTube is applying this new eligibility criteria in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Taiwan, And South Korea. It will late roll it out to other countries where YPP is available.
YouTube posted “From Fan Funding to Shopping: More Ways for Creators to Earn on YouTube”. From the blog post:
Starting today, eligible creators will begin to be able to apply to YPP earlier – once they’ve met a threshold of 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3000 watch hours in the past year or 3M Shorts views in the last 90 days. These new partners will unlock access to fan funding features like channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, and the ability to promote their own products with YouTube Shopping.
The Verge reported that smaller creators will still need to grow their footprint to cash in on ad revenue with YouTube saying the existing YPP requirements will remain for revenue sharing (the company notes that creators won’t have to reapply to the program once they hit the higher requirements).
According to The Verge, YouTube has used its ad revenue sharing program to entice creators to make money, especially to bolster the company’s short form content in recent months by introducing an ad revenue sharing program for Shorts.
PCMag reported that there is good news for YouTube creators already in the YPP who have more than 20,000 subscribers. YouTube is allowing you to take advantage of its Shopping affiliate pilot and tag eligible products in videos (and Shorts) to earn a commission. For now, this feature is limited to the US.
Personally, as someone who puts a lot of gameplay videos on YouTube, I can see how this might work for creators with huge audiences. Right now, my channel doesn’t meet the criteria to be eligible for YouTube’s new conditions. I like that the number of required subscribers has dropped from 1,000 to 500. I’m concerned that some small creators won’t be able to meet that goal.