Popular video-sharing and social media platform YouTube has announced that channels with 500 subscribers are now eligible to earn money, reducing the eligibility subscriber count from the previous 1000.
The platform made the change in its eligibility requirements and tweaked its monetization policy to give smaller creators a chance to survive and thrive on the platform, India Today reported.
Previously, the minimum number of subscribers required to earn money was 1000.
In addition to tweaking the subscriber count eligibility, the platform has also lowered the watch hour criteria from 4000 hours to 3000 hours.
If your channel primarily indulges in creating shorts, there is more good news, as the eligibility view count has been significantly lowered to 3 million from the previous 10 million. This change dramatically increases the chance for smaller content creators to earn on the platform.
The new eligibility criteria will be implemented first in the United States, the United Kingdom, Taiwan and South Korea, before making its way to other regions.
While the eligibility criteria to earn on the platform have been tweaked, the method for earning via ad revenue remains unchanged. Creators will still have to ensure that their content has a broad reach in order to generate money via ad revenue.
Similar to YouTube, other platforms like TikTok have also made efforts to support creator monetization. TikTok recently announced that its video paywall feature called Series would be available to creators with over 10,000 followers, but those with 1,000 followers who meet additional requirements can also apply.
This feature enables creators to offer premium content that fans can pay to access. Furthermore, YouTube is expanding its shopping affiliate program, which was previously available only to select creators by invitation.
Now, YPP participants in the US with at least 20,000 subscribers can also access this program, allowing them to earn through affiliate marketing and product promotion.
These updates from YouTube and other platforms represent a positive shift toward supporting smaller creators and diversifying monetization options, enabling them to generate income and sustain their creative endeavors.
