YouTube is introducing a slew of new ways creators can make money and use the platform. CPO Neal Mohan laid out the platform’s plan for the coming year in a long post Thursday.
Mohan said creators will have new ways to make money through Shorts, YouTube’s TikTok clone. The platform is looking into new ways Shorts creators can form brand partnerships, integrate shopping into their videos and fan-funded features like Super Chat. Separately, YouTube is introducing gifted memberships, which would let someone buy a channel membership for another user, in the coming months.
Mohan said the platform is also rolling out collaborative livestreaming, which lets creators go live together, in an effort to make it easier for people to go live. “One of the biggest questions livestreaming creators have is ‘What do I talk about?’” Mohan said. Creators on Instagram and TikTok can go live together, too.
The platform is also tweaking its tools for creating videos and interacting with fans, like the ability to respond to individual comments on a Short, like users can do on TikTok. Creators can also begin to set channel guidelines to “better shape the tone of conversations.”
Creators and short-form video continue to be central to YouTube's vision. Mohan said the word “creator” over 30 times in the post, emphasizing that YouTube is investing heavily in keeping creators on the platform. The platform already has a fund for Shorts creators, but other platforms like TikTok are making it clear that these funds aren’t the only way to make money, having introduced shopping, brand partnerships, tip jars, gifting, and creator subscriptions as a way to entice creators. Now it seems that YouTube is heading in this direction as well.
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE