YouTube Just Made It Harder For New Accounts To Make Money
You Will Soon Need 20 Million Views To Qualify For YouTube Shorts Monetization
YouTube is doubling the requirements for new channels before they can start monetizing content as part of the YPP partner program, from 4,000 qualified watch hours to 8,000 over the last year.
But even more staggering are the changes to YouTube Shorts, the TikTok-style endless feed, as creators will need to reach 20 million qualified views within three months starting from February 1, 2027.
Once a creator hits that threshold, they must continue to reach 10 million qualified views every 90 days to remain eligible for ads and subscription revenue.
"Channels below this threshold remain in YPP and continue earning on long-form content, with Shorts revenue sharing automatically resuming once they cross 10 million views again," YouTube explained.
This won't affect existing channels that are currently monetized, even if they don't meet the new requirements (though they will need to hit at least 10 million views consistently). However, for new creators, it raises the barrier for entry significantly.
YouTube claimed in a new blog post that these changes are being made to "keep pace with the growth" of the platform.
"Taken together, these updates allow us to invest in new incentive programs that directly support creator growth and the many business models that work across YouTube," the team said.
Despite these changes, YouTube expects to "pay even more to creators in 2027," noting that there are three million channels currently in the program. "We're making the first significant changes since 2018 to ensure that YPP continues to be the leader in the creator economy by meaningfully rewarding active creators," it claimed.
Animators, Educational Channels, Scripted Comedy: Who Will Be Hit Hardest?
As reported by Creative Bloq, this will have a crucial impact on certain corners of the YouTube community, namely independent animators who will now need to earn far more views before they can start earning.
Animation takes a significant amount of time even to create a short piece, which means that animators will inevitably upload less than other creators, not only making it harder to get recommended on the platform, but to accrue the views required to continue making money via Shorts.
Beyond animation, high-production filmmakers and scripted comedy creators will struggle to subsidize the cost of longer-form videos with Shorts under these constraints, along with educational channels that require in-depth research. And, of course, emerging channels without an existing subscriber base will find it far more difficult to profit from their work.
The changes reward more frequent uploads, focusing on sheer quantity, which risks incentivizing more frequent, lower-effort content on Shorts that can be churned out quickly, exacerbating the torrent of slop on the platform.