YouTube is making it easier for creators to access monetization features through the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). They are expanding the shopping affiliate program to U.S.-based creators who are part of YPP and have over 20,000 subscribers. The new requirements for YPP eligibility include 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.
If creators meet the new criteria, they can apply to join YPP and gain access to features like Super Thanks, Super Chat, Super Stickers, channel memberships, and YouTube Shopping to promote their merchandise. However, the requirement of three video uploads per 90 days may pose a challenge for creators who produce longer videos but still gather significant views.
These changes will be implemented in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Taiwan, and South Korea initially, with plans to expand to other countries where YPP is available. YouTube is also extending its Shopping affiliate pilot to more U.S. creators in YPP with over 20,000 subscribers, allowing them to tag products in videos and Shorts and earn commissions.
YouTube intends to share more information about these new programs at the upcoming VidCon conference. Additionally, they recently revised their policy regarding the use of profanity at the start of videos, shortening the time limit from 15 to 7 seconds and allowing profanity in music.
YouTube has been actively introducing monetization tools for Shorts creators and started sharing ad revenue with them in February. They have also launched Creator Music, which enables artists to earn money by allowing their music to be used in videos. Furthermore, YouTube introduced a metric to track an artist’s reach across various formats, including Shorts.