YouTube is looking to capitalize on short form video by introducing monetization to YouTube Shorts, according to a Thursday report from The New York Times.
Creators on YouTube’s TikTok equivalent will receive 45% of ad revenue, people familiar with the matter told the NYT. The outlet received audio from a YouTube staff meeting, highlighting the company’s plans for short form content creators.
Amjad Hanif, YouTube’s VP of product management and creator products, said at the meeting the monetization will “really help creators understand why YouTube is the place to start their Shorts career.”
He added YouTube creators will be able to earn money from videos that include popular music audio. The company is expected to make a more detailed announcement on the updates at an event on Tuesday, says the NYT.
YouTube Shorts as of July had over 1.5 billion signed-in users per month, according to parent company Google, with more than 30 billion daily views.
Google began experimenting with ads in YouTube Shorts since last year, and in May officially rolled out advertising capabilities to the platform – namely video action and app campaigns.
YouTube TV is also trying to make use of Shorts, reportedly planning to add the bite-sized videos to its service.
YouTube is already experiencing a steady flow of ad dollars. MediaRadar earlier this year unveiled $482 million was spent on YouTube video ads in the first quarter.
The rise of TikTok and other short form video platforms, MediaRadar Founder and CEO Todd Krizelman previously told Fierce Video, is likely to impact ad duration times. Consumers are leaning towards shorter ads, particularly on streaming services and FAST channels, recent LG Ads data suggests.
TikTok, despite facing scrutiny a couple of months ago over potential data sharing concerns, seems to be going strong. MoffettNathanson wrote in a June research note that TikTok “is big and a force to be reckoned with,” citing AppAnnie statistics which indicated TikTok users are spending on average 307 hours a year in the app.
TikTok in June began making its way to larger devices, with a new integration on Vizio smart TVs.
Meta is another well-known player in the short form video space, with Instagram Reels. The tech giant boasted Reels reached annual revenue run rate of $1 billion in the second quarter. But a recent Wall Street Journal report suggests Reels might not be getting as much engagement as Meta anticipated.
The outlet cited an internal research document from Meta, which wrote Instagram users cumulatively are spending “less than one-tenth of the 197.8 million hours TikTok users spend each day on that platform.”