YouTube now lets more creators charge for their videos
YouTube has expanded the pilot program, first launched in May, that lets select partners sell subscriptions to their channels. It’s now available to all channels that have over 10,000 subscribers and meet some other requirements.
Creators have to launch a new paid channel — they can’t simply start charging for their existing one.
The company announced on its blog Tuesday:
“Today is the next step in offering you more ways to monetize your content through paid channels, now available to eligible partners in good standing with a channel that has least 10,000 existing subscribers. In addition to the 10 countries where paid channels are already available, you can also create and subscribe to paid channels in Mexico, with more countries launching in coming months.”
“Eligible” partners are those that have AdSense linked to their YouTube accounts and meet some other requirements. The countries where paid channels are available: The U.S., UK, Canada, France, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, South Korea.
Users will also have another way to find these paid channels: They are now accessible from YouTube’s mobile site and can be subscribed to there. YouTube says it will “keep adding more devices from which viewers can subscribe.”
YouTube launched its pilot subscription program in May, and the 71 existing paid channels are here, with subscriptions starting at $0.99 a month. Partners include Sesame Street, National Geographic Kids and Laugh Factory, among others. As my colleague Janko Roettgers has written, a paid subscription strategy will likely work best for creators who really understand YouTube and aren’t just using it as one outlet of many for their videos: “Outside brands that want to use YouTube as an additional platform to sell their content may have a much harder time — which is why it was so surprising that the first slate of subscription channels largely consists of outsiders.” Now that the program is opened up to more creators, it’s possible that we’ll see more YouTube “insiders” succeeding with subscriptions.
YouTube still hasn’t said when it will open up the paid channel option to all creators.
This post was clarified to note that creators have to launch new paid channels; they can’t simply start charging for their existing ones.
More From paidContent.org
