YouTube has adjusted the requirements for its Partner Program (YPP), making it easier for creators with smaller followings to earn money. The Google subsidiary has cut in half — to 500 — the minimum number of subscribers required for creators to monetize across paid chat, shopping, tipping, channel memberships and more. Other thresholds have also been lowered, with valid watch hours reduced to 3,000 (from 4,000) and Shorts views cut to 3 million (as opposed to 10 million). The new parameters are initially effective in the U.S., Canada, UK, Taiwan and South Korea.

“These new partners will unlock access to fan funding features like channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, and the ability to promote their own products with YouTube Shopping,” YouTube said in a blog post, adding that in the U.S., “the number of channels that earned a majority of revenue from Fan Funding products in December 2022 saw an increase over 20 percent compared to the prior year.”

The YouTube Shopping affiliate program will now be available to U.S. creators who are in YPP with over 20,000 subscribers. The affiliate program allows creators to feature products from brands and other creators in their video and Shorts content and be eligible for commission rates on sales. YouTube has more than 50 participating brands across beauty, tech, home and apparel, among them Nordstrom, Sephora, Ulta Beauty, and Wayfair.

TikTok also recently lowered the bar for creator monetization participation. This month, TikTok said its video paywall feature, Series, “would be available to creators with more than 10,000 followers but that users with 1,000 followers who met other requirements could also apply to participate in the program,” writes The Verge, explaining Series allows creators to offer fans paid access to premium content.

Other platforms also offer opportunities to earn at various levels.

YouTube’s shopping affiliate program, which had been available by invitation to select creators, is now open to U.S. YPP participants with 20,000 subscribers or more. “As creators build their communities on YouTube, our fan funding features give them another way to grow their earnings while engaging with their audience,” YouTube said.

Meanwhile, the Partner Program requirements for ad revenue sharing are not being lowered, but smaller creators working their way up the food chain will not need to reapply as their audience grows to meet the higher standard. In September, YouTube introduced ad revenue sharing for Shorts.