YouTube Makes It Even Harder for Creators to Monetize Videos

YouTube announced their intentions to make it even harder for creators to monetize their videos on the platform this week.

According to TechCrunch, users previously “needed 10,000 total views” to join the YouTube Partner Program, which grants creators the ability to monetize videos, among other perks.

“Starting today, channels also need to have 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of view time in the past year. (For now, those are just requirements to join the program, but Google says it will also start applying them to current partners on February 20.),” they reported on Tuesday.

YouTube will also “closely monitor signals like community strikes, spam, and other abuse flags to ensure they comply with our policies,” and, “Both new and existing YPP channels will be automatically evaluated under this strict criteria and if we find a channel repeatedly or egregiously violates our community guidelines, we will remove that channel from YPP.”

The company is also making changes to the Google Preferred program, following the Logan Paul controversy this month.

Following the announcement of the new changes, YouTube content creators both criticized and defended the move on Twitter.

Both YouTube star KeemStar and PewDiePie, the most subscribed channel on the platform, defended YouTube.

If you can’t get 1000 subs & 4000 hours of watch time in a year then do you really believe you should make money from YouTube?

I see so many people upset but let’s be real, if youtube is your JOB & you expect to be paid but can’t get 1000 subs YOU SUCK AT YOUR JOB!

— KEEM 🍿 (@KEEMSTAR) January 17, 2018

https://twitter.com/pewdiepie/status/953539533076942849

https://twitter.com/pewdiepie/status/953542525066805248

https://twitter.com/pewdiepie/status/953544003315798017

Others criticized the company for refusing to listen to its users, and making things more difficult for smaller channels.

A review:@YouTube, known for never caring or listening to creators, just removed monetisation from countless channels.@Twitch, known for community focus and a slogan showing so much care they “bleed purple”, added the affiliate program so countless channels get monetised.

🙃

— Shannon Plante (@ShannonZKiller) January 17, 2018

I’m not sure if making it more difficult to join the YouTube partner program fixes the issue of already popular channels continuing to abuse the system.

— Justine Ezarik (@ijustine) January 17, 2018

Twitch: Broadens monetization via affiliate program

YouTube: Removes monetization from smaller channels

YouTube, what you doin'?? pic.twitter.com/yVirQhhADc

— Lobosjr (@Lobosjrgaming) January 17, 2018