YouTube’s new ad revenue sharing model for YouTube Shorts is set to launch on February 1st, as the platform gears up for a monumental battle with TikTok. Guidelines are now available which outline how Shorts creators can monetise their content.
The YouTube Shorts ad revenue replaces the existing YouTube Shorts Fund. To be eligible, YouTube says monetising partners “will need to accept the Shorts Monetisation Module. Shorts views accrued prior to accepting the Shorts Monetisation Module are not eligible for Shorts ad revenue sharing.”
There are a number of core rules relating to the nature of the content, which are spelled out on YouTube’s platform. For example, “only views of content that follow our advertiser-friendly guidelines will be eligible for revenue sharing”. Also, for the purposes of calculating payments, YouTube won’t count views of Shorts where views are ineligible. Examples of ineligible Shorts views may include: “non-original Shorts, such as unedited clips from movies or TV shows, re-uploading other creators’ content from YouTube or other platform, or compilations with no original content.”
There are four steps to how Shorts ad revenue sharing works. Firstly, each month, revenue from ads running between videos in the Shorts Feed gets added together and used to both reward creators and help cover costs of music licensing. Secondly, Shorts Feed ad revenue is then allocated into the Creator Pool based on views and music usage across Shorts uploaded by monetising creators. Thirdly, from the overall amount in the Creator Pool, revenue is distributed to monetising creators based on their share of total views from monetising creators’ Shorts in each country. Finally, a revenue share will be applied – with monetising creators keeping 45%. For more information about how to start making money head to the guidelines.
