YouTube will pay its Shorts creators 45% off ad sales in a bid to ward off TikTok’s stiff competition. The US-based video-sharing platform has struggled in the wake of the rise of the Chinese app and wants to contest its influence by offering a hefty potential income to hook more smartphone users.
YouTube started Shorts, a short video feature on its platform to allow users to post and share short clips just like what TikTok offers.
Google, the owner of the popular streaming platform announced that it would introduce advertisements on Shorts and give creators 45% of the revenues. The company has a policy of 55% for videos outside Shorts which compares with TikTok’s mammoth $1 billion fund for its creators.
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The plan draws praise from YouTube Shorts Creators
The announcement has earned praise from popular YouTubers already. Hairstylist Kris Collins, better known as Kallmkris praised the policy. She said, “Other platforms are focused on getting people their 15 seconds of fame, which is great,” she said. “But YouTube is taking a different approach. They’re helping creators make stuff in multiple formats.”
Despite being the default choice for video sharing for years, YouTube has suffered from the rise of TikTok. The short video format has drawn millions of users, especially the younger demographic, to its platform away from the established YouTube.
YouTube introduced Shorts in 2020 mimicking TikTok’s own but with 1-minute length at a time to attract smartphone users.
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In April, YouTube created $100 million in funds to encourage creators to make Shorts. The new 45% earning to the creators is the bigger and better offer that could fancy a competition to TikTok.
Google generated $14.2 billion from YouTube ad sales in the first half of 2022. And it’s 9% more than the same period from 2021. But the quarterly growth reflected the slowest in three years. Analysts say TikTok is playing its part in undermining the influence of YouTube.
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Do you love YouTube Shorts? Do you see it mounting a credible contest against TikTok’s commercial money engine? You can share your opinion in the comments below.