YouTube changes monetization rules: Shorts will have a 10 million views threshold

YouTube will change monetization rules for creators in the YouTube Partner Program starting February 1, 2027.

This is stated in the company’s blog.

Specifically, it concerns a new threshold for earning revenue from ads and subscriptions on Shorts.

What will change for creators

Starting February 1, 2027, creators will be able to receive a share of ad and subscription revenue on Shorts if their channels have at least 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.

Channels that don’t meet this threshold will remain in the partner program and continue to earn from long-form videos. Shorts monetization will automatically resume once the channel again reaches 10 million views within 90 days.

YouTube also plans to roll out new earning options for creators who don’t meet this threshold. These include — bonuses for using YouTube Shopping, incentives for arranging branded integrations with brands, and payments for creating and growing popular trends.

For new creators, YouTube will also raise the requirements to participate in ad monetization and YouTube Premium.

To access this part of YPP, creators will need 8,000 hours of qualified watch time in the last 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.

These new thresholds will apply only to new entrants. Creators who are already in the YPP will not be affected.

YouTube will expand Premium Lite

YouTube also plans to expand Premium Lite to all countries where YouTube Premium is available. This subscription allows watching most content ad-free, as well as using offline and background playback.

Creators will receive a portion of subscription revenue. For YouTube Premium, 30% of the net subscription revenue goes into a special pool for creators, and for Premium Lite — 60%.

Those funds are then distributed among creators based on views and watch time. For long-form videos creators receive 55% of that amount, and for Shorts — 45%.

YouTube expects that with an increase in Premium subscribers, creators will be able to earn more. According to the company, on average a creator earns more when a user subscribes to Premium than when that user watches ads.

Creators will be able to review and accept the new rules in YouTube Studio. 

As a reminder, in the first seven months of 2026, foreign companies that provide electronic services in Ukraine paid UAH 11.3 billion in the ‘Google tax’ to the state budget.

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