LOS ANGELES: YouTube unveiled a new way for creators to make money on short-form video, as it faces intensifying competition from TikTok.
The Google-owned (GOOGL.O) streaming service announced Tuesday that it would introduce advertising on its video feature Shorts and give video creators 45% of the revenue. That compares with its standard distribution of 55% for videos outside of Shorts, and TikTok’s $1 billion fund for paying creators.
Hairstylist-turned-YouTube-creator Kris Collins, who goes by Kallmekris, lauded YouTube for offering revenue-sharing for Shorts.
“Other platforms are focused on getting people their 15 seconds of fame, which is great,” she said. “But YouTube is taking a different approach. They’re helping creators make stuff in multiple formats.”
The internet’s dominant video site has struggled to compete with TikTok, the app that got its start hosting lip-sync and dance videos and has subsequently burgeoned to 1 billion monthly users.
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YouTube responded in late 2020 with Shorts, minute-long videos that attract more than 1.5 billion monthly viewers.
In April, YouTube created a $100 million fund to entice creators to make the bite-sized videos in its bid to hang onto talent. The new revenue-sharing plan, first reported by the New York Times, is meant to be a bigger and more sustainable lure than the fund and something TikTok has yet to match.
YouTube is sharing a smaller proportion of sales with Shorts creators to offset its significant investment in developing the feature, Vice President Tara Walpert Levy said.
Google generated $14.2 billion in YouTube ad sales during the first half of this year, up 9% from the same period in 2021.
