YouTube Shorts Fund: $100 Million to Compete with TikTok

YouTube Launches $100 Million Fund for Shorts Creators

Earlier this year, YouTube revealed its intention to make substantial investments in original content designed for its short-form video platform, YouTube Shorts, as a direct competitor to TikTok. This commitment materialized with the announcement of a $100 million YouTube Shorts Fund.

Fund Details and Payouts

The fund is designed to incentivize and reward creators for producing engaging and highly viewed short-form videos throughout 2021 and 2022. The primary objective is to rapidly expand creator activity on Shorts, thereby strengthening its position against TikTok.

YouTube has now confirmed the official launch of the fund. Initial payouts to eligible creators are scheduled to commence in August.

Monthly Eligibility and Payment Ranges

Each month, YouTube will extend invitations to thousands of creators who meet the eligibility criteria, allowing them to claim payments from the fund. These payments will vary, ranging from $100 to $10,000, and will be determined by video viewership and engagement metrics.

YouTube has indicated that the specific viewership thresholds required to qualify for payouts may be adjusted on a monthly basis, and declined to disclose exact numbers.

Determining Payout Amounts

The company will assess payout amounts by analyzing the performance of top-performing channels. Bonuses will be calculated based on several factors, including total views and audience location.

A minimum payment of $100 has been established to ensure that a broad range of creators can benefit from the fund.

Content Requirements and Originality

To be eligible, creators must submit original content. Videos that have been re-uploaded from other platforms or contain watermarks from other social media services will not qualify.

This requirement addresses a challenge faced by Instagram’s Reels, where content often mirrored that of TikTok. YouTube will employ both automated systems and human reviewers to verify content originality.

Eligibility Criteria

Creators must be at least 13 years old in the U.S., or of the age of majority in their respective country. Those between 13 and 18 will require parental or guardian consent to set up an AdSense account, which will be linked to their channel for payment processing.

All Shorts videos will contribute to a creator’s monthly bonus, regardless of when they were originally uploaded.

Additional Requirements

• Channels must have uploaded at least one eligible Short within the past 180 days.
• Creators must adhere to YouTube’s Community Guidelines, copyright regulations, and monetization policies.

Participation in the fund is open to both members of the YouTube Partner Program and creators who are not currently monetizing their channels.

Initial Launch Markets

The fund will initially support creators in the following countries: the U.S., Brazil, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Expansion to additional markets is planned for the future.

Content Focus and Differentiation

YouTube has stated it is not seeking specific video categories or themes at this stage. Instead, payouts will be based solely on the overall monthly performance of a channel’s Shorts.

While this approach offers creators creative freedom, it could potentially lead to the creation of content that closely resembles TikTok videos. This raises concerns about whether YouTube Shorts will successfully differentiate itself.

Comparison to Competitors

Platforms like Pinterest’s Idea Pins and Snapchat’s Spotlight are focusing on leveraging their unique strengths. Idea Pins emphasize tutorials and recipes, while Spotlight features a wider range of content, including less polished Snaps.

Claiming Bonuses

YouTube will begin notifying eligible creators next week regarding their bonus qualifications. Notifications will be delivered through the YouTube app, detailing the bonus amount and claiming instructions.

Creators will have until the 25th of each month to claim their bonus payment before it expires.

Industry-Wide Investment in Creators

TikTok’s success has prompted other social media platforms to invest in creator communities. Facebook recently announced a $1 billion-plus bonus program for videos on Facebook and Instagram, including Reels. Snapchat and Pinterest have also launched creator funds, though on a smaller scale.

TikTok itself introduced a $200 million fund for U.S. creators last month.

YouTube’s Monetization Options

With the launch of the Shorts Fund, YouTube now offers creators ten different avenues for monetization, including advertising revenue, YouTube Premium revenue sharing, channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Thanks, Super Stickers, merchandise sales, ticketing, and YouTube BrandConnect.