One year in, revenue sharing on Shorts shows that sharing your passion on YouTube pays off
YouTube Shorts now has an average of over 70B daily views since launching in 2021. This 60 seconds (or less) format has given creators new avenues to earn money, and the Shorts community is beginning to thrive with new forms of creativity and fresh voices to the platform.
We’re now marking one year since introducing revenue sharing on Shorts, our latest way to earn through the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). We believe in the power of partnership, and that’s reflected in our continued commitment to our unique business model built on the premise that we only succeed when our creators do - whether they’re new to the platform or longtime creators in the program.
It’s still early, but we’re starting to see creators’ passion pay off – since introducing revenue sharing on Shorts last year, more than 25% of channels in YPP are now earning through this revenue stream.
The beauty of YouTube is that creators have the opportunity to succeed both creatively and financially. We’re now seeing that of the creators who joined YPP by meeting the Shorts eligibility thresholds, more than 80% are now also earning through other YPP monetization features on YouTube, be it longform advertising, fan funding, YouTube Premium, BrandConnect, Shopping and more. This means that Shorts is opening the door for creators to earn in other ways on the platform, and they’re seeing the dividends. Today YouTube is the only platform that gives creators the option to upload content across different formats (Shorts, VOD, Live, Podcast and Audio) and earn money from multiple revenue streams.
We’re amazed by the creators who come to YouTube every day to share their passions and build businesses. But don’t just take our word for it: meet five creators who share a glimpse of what’s possible through the power of Shorts:
- Reem Animations (1.36M subscribers) Reem is a Jordanian content creator living in Saudi Arabia and one of the very few women on YouTube in MENA whose content is purely animation. Her content grows from a love of storytelling and a talent in animation. She’s renowned for interesting stories, which often touch on real-life experiences of many in the region. Reem says “ Shorts helped me attract a new audience who started exploring my long-form content, which helped increase views on my channel. I remember there was a month where I published quite a few Shorts, and I saw there was a huge difference in views on my channel and in my revenue thanks to Shorts.”
- Alan Chikin Chow (38.7M subscribers) A creator, actor, producer, comedian, entrepreneur, and changemaker, Alan has conquered the global charts as the number one, most-watched YouTube Shorts creator, renowned for his uplifting content which inspires and brings joy to millions of dedicated viewers around the globe. Alan shares that, “Revenue sharing on Shorts has really changed the game for me and my channel. As a Shorts-first creator and one of the most-viewed channels in the US, I’ve seen what’s possible creatively through the format. But revenue sharing has delivered a sustainable way to continue to build my business. I trust YouTube to do right by me and my community, and that trust and experience is what makes it work.”
3. Sydney Morgan (7.6M subscribers): Shorts first, Sydney is one of the fastest growing beauty creators on the platform. Sydney fell in love with makeup during the pandemic when she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Turning a challenging time into a positive experience, Sydney used this to fuel her passion for beauty and content creation. Sydney shares that "I didn't know what to expect with Shorts rev share but I am very comfortably making a living off that revenue alone full time unlike any other platform. As a hybrid account, I still make the majority of my revenue from Shorts. So much potential and opportunity with rev share that Creators are definitely missing out on if they aren't taking advantage. Easiest way to grow yourself or your business on YouTube.”
4. Mrwhosetheboss (18.2M subscribers) Arun Maini is an Economics graduate from the UK whose life's passion is Technology. He's on a mission to make technology content both useful and more fun. In his own words, "YouTube Shorts has been absolutely transformative. The ability to find new audiences with videos that take a fraction of the time to produce has been such a key catalyst for our growth. For perspective it took us 10 years to hit 1 billion views with long form content - as soon as we started shorts we hit our second billion in less than 10 months. The monetisation in particular, while still not close to the income generated by long-form content, has been really helpful in terms of covering the costs of our shorts shoots, and allowing us to justify spending money in the production process to make even better content!"
5. It’s Meissie (10.4M Subs): Indonesian creator, Meissie is best known for her relatable and comedic product reviews. Since getting started with Shorts, she was able to grow her channel to over 10M subscribers in just two years. She shares that, “Because of the community I’ve built with Shorts, I’ve been able to expand my channel and start uploading longer videos, too. I feel like the time I invest on YouTube is really worth it - I’ve been able to connect and collaborate with other creators in the Shorts community, and know that my videos will gain traction and earn revenue over time.”
When we introduced YPP 16 years ago, we built a system that rewards, protects and celebrates great content and the creative minds behind it. Beginning with just a handful of creators, it’s grown to more than 3 million creators globally. And YouTube has paid $70B to creators, artists and media companies over the last three years, more than any other creator monetization platform.
While this is an important moment, we’re still at the beginning of our journey of broadening opportunity through Shorts. Longform will continue to deliver great results for the community, and now with Shorts, we’re starting to see how bringing together creators, viewers and advertisers has grown the short form video ecosystem -- bringing fresh opportunity to the community both creatively and financially. As the creator community continues to invest in Shorts, this will only grow.
This is an edited version of a global YouTube blog
