YouTube doubles the bar for new creators to earn money
What's the story
YouTube has announced a major change in its monetization policy, making it harder for new creators to start earning money from ads and subscriptions. Starting February 1, 2027, new creators will need either 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last year or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last three months. The previous requirement was half of these numbers: 4,000 watch hours or 10 million Shorts views.
Policy impact
New thresholds for aspiring creators
The updated policy only affects new creators looking to join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), which allows them to monetize their content.
The subscriber requirement of 1,000 remains unchanged. However, channels that fall below the new threshold will stay in the partner program and continue earning from long-form videos.
Their earnings from YouTube Shorts will resume once they meet the 10 million criteria again.
Shorts policy
New earnings rule for Shorts
YouTube has also introduced a new rule for Shorts earnings, effective February 1.
Creators will now need 10 million qualified Shorts views over a rolling 90-day period to remain eligible for ad and subscription revenue sharing on these short videos.
The Google-owned platform says that creators who already earn significant revenue from Shorts are unlikely to be affected by the new rule.
Subscription expansion
YouTube Premium Lite availability expanded
In a bid to increase creator earnings, YouTube has expanded its affordable Premium Lite subscription to all countries where YouTube Premium is available.
The subscription offers an ad-free experience on most videos, offline viewing, and background play.
Under this model, 30% of net subscription revenue from Premium and 60% from Premium Lite will go into separate creator pools after accounting for operating and promotion costs.