In 2020, inspired by the popularity of TikTok, YouTube introduced support for short-form video. Since then, YouTube has consistently innovated to remain relevant in the market for short-form video consumption. In an effort to encourage more people to develop YouTube Shorts, the platform revealed several updates this week.

YouTube announced in September that artists will be able to make money off of their Shorts videos via a temporary fund called Shorts, which would be phased out in favour of the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). When the time came, the YouTube Shorts Fund was discontinued. Starting on Tuesday, broadcasters may make money from advertisements that air in between their Shorts feed thanks to the addition of Shorts to the YPP.

Creators will need to sign a new YPP contract by July 10 to take advantage of the changes. As of the 23rd of February, when the new contract has been signed, the creators will be able to begin receiving their new income. A new income stream starts on the day you accept the contract if it is signed after that date.

Any new creative who has gained 1,000 subscribers and 10 million qualifying Shorts views in the past 90 days is now also eligible to join the YPP. The method of uploading also received a much-requested upgrade.

The creator of a Short may now choose a still image from the video to serve as the cover art for the Short. YouTube formerly selected a still from the video at random, which sometimes resulted in odd or deceptive covers. YouTube is now working on making this thumbnail-selecting capability accessible on iOS as well as Android.

YouTube’s statistics have also been improved to better show producers how their videos are doing. When clicking on the “Content” tab in the “Studio Analytics,” creators will see a new card that breaks down subscriber growth by content category. Prior to this change, only content-type-specific views were accessible.

Information on what kind of material their audiences are most interested in will also be available to creators on studio mobile. YouTube Analytics’ Advanced Mode, which previously just displayed video titles, will now now display content duration. Such sophisticated analytics will provide light on the origins of a creator’s audience and allow for more informed editorial decisions.

In addition, YouTube is testing out a member recognition shelf under mobile video summaries. The shelf would be included into the information card area; however, its removal is an option for the designers.