Why it matters: How would you like to earn $10,000 per month? All it takes is a short-form video clip that attracts a lot of views and engagement. YouTube is giving out the money as an incentive for creators who use its TikTok-style Shorts platform.
YouTube earlier this year announced a $100 million fund that will pay those who make popular Shorts, which rolled out fully to 100 countries last month. From now throughout 2022, "thousands of eligible creators" can claim between $100 and $10,000 every month based on how many people watch their content and specific engagement metrics.
YouTube never revealed the required minimum viewer numbers as they change each month. It told TechCrunch that "it will determine how it calculates the thresholds by analyzing the best-performing channels and then calculating their bonus based on a number of factors, which includes views, where their audience is located and more."
Creators who qualify for payments will be notified the second week of each month via the YouTube app. They'll then have until the 25th of that month to claim the money.
There are some stipulations: the content must be original---no videos re-uploaded from other platforms such as TikTok, or any that feature watermarks; creators need to be over 13, and anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian to set up their AdSense account, link it to the creator's channel and accept the terms. Additionally, channels must have uploaded at least one eligible Short in the last 180 days.
Payments are only available in ten regions right now, including the US, UK, India, and Brazil, but they will expand to other markets in the future. Eventually, the Shorts Fund will be replaced by a "long-term, scalable monetization program," said Neal Mohan, YouTube's chief product officer.
Other platforms offer similar rewards for creators: Facebook has a $1 billion+ fund for videos posted to Facebook and Instagram; Pinterest has a $500,000 fund; and TikTok's has $200 million ready for US creators.