Google’s YouTube has created a new model for its Shorts feed that lets creators share short-form videos as exclusive content for their paying viewers. The feature gives creators an opportunity to share exclusive content with their most ardent fans, in addition to other perks for paying subscribers, like badges, custom emojis, live streams and more. TikTok recently loosened its subscription requirements for creators, allowing more of them to participate. In March, the ByteDance owned service said it is renaming TikTok Live as “Subscription” and is opening it to “regular creators,” letting them post exclusive content that paying users can see.

“Members Only Shorts on YouTube could entice viewers to sign up for a paid membership. YouTube says creators can use the new option to share a special announcement, product drop or limited-time deal,” TechCrunch reports, adding that “Creators can use Members Only Shorts for Q&As, behind-the-scenes looks or clips of upcoming content.”

After creators upload a Short video, under “visibility” they can opt to select “members only,” making it available only to their paid subscribers. Creators can toggle their settings so an existing Short becomes members only. They can also schedule a members-only Short to go public at a particular time, creating a window of exclusivity for private preview.

“The Google-owned company encourages creators to keep these Shorts casual and more organic than their public content, likely to make subscribers feel like they have a more intimate look into the creator’s life and activities,” TechCrunch writes, explaining that paid subscribers “will see the exclusive short-form videos in the Shorts tab, Subscriptions feed and on a creator’s channel” with the exclusive content displaying a star icon to indicate it’s only for those who pay.

The Verge reports that a year after YouTube launched revenue sharing for short-form video creators, “more than 1 in 4 creators in YouTube’s Partner Program are now earning money with YouTube Shorts,” per a YouTube blog post.

“Given there are over 3 million creators in YouTube’s ad sharing program, that amounts to roughly 750,000 Shorts creators in total,” according to The Verge, which adds that while YouTube doesn’t break out compensation for Shorts, “it has paid $70 billion to creators in total over the last three years, with the bulk of that going to long-form content.”

Related:
YouTube is Testing AI Feature That Skips to ‘Best Parts’ of Videos, PetaPixel, 3/28/24
YouTube Says Over 25% of Its Creator Partners Now Monetize via Shorts, TechCrunch, 3/28/24