YouTube has been the place for video creators for a long time now; in fact, it was one of the very first platforms that helped many creators unleash their creativity and create video content and over the years, we have witnessed the rise of many video creators and many YouTube channels to become actual brands or influencers.
YouTube Stays Ahead Of The Game
The platform has always been adding more features and updates to help its users get more creative.
We have come across many new features on YouTube; the last one was Shorts. The platform added the ‘Shorts’ feature to enable creators to create short videos using their phones. This feature was launched in July 2021. This new feature has been gaining the attention of many people, in fact, the videos of Shorts are receiving 15 billion daily views.
Tarek Amin, Director of YouTube in the Middle East and North Africa said
Since rolling out Shorts in the Middle East and North Africa earlier this year, we’ve seen great growth in viewership and creation. The Shorts Fund was the logical next step as we build our long-term monetization plan for Shorts.
YouTube Launches ‘Shorts Fund’
Following the success of the new Shorts feature, YouTube launched another one under the name of ‘Shorts Fund’.
On December 5th, YouTube has announced the release of ‘YouTube Shorts Fund’ in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Morocco. This feature will reward video creators and artists who make creative and unique Shorts. The YouTube Shorts Fund is worth 100 million dollars and it was initially announced in May and has already made it to a number of markets around the world.
YouTube is planning to expand its fund to more countries in the coming months.
The Director of YouTube in The Middle East and North Africa stated the following,
YouTube has helped an entire generation of creators and artists turn their creativity into businesses, and in MENA the number of creators earning five and six figures from YouTube continues to grow year on year. The Fund is yet another tool in YouTube’s storytelling toolbox.
How To Be Eligible For Shorts Fund
There are a number of rules to be able to join the fund.
1- Your channel needs to have at least one uploaded eligible Shorts in the last 180 days.
2- Channels need to abide by YouTube’s Community Guidelines, copyright rules, and monetization policies.
3- Do not upload videos with watermarks or logos from third-party social media platforms, non-original videos like untitled clips from movies or TV shows, or videos from other channels.
4- Channels do not need to be currently monetizing on YouTube to be eligible.
5- Creators must be above the age of majority in their country/region.
The qualified channels can earn from 100 dollars to 10,000 dollars each month as a start with bonus payments based on the total Shorts’ performance and their audience’s location.
YouTube Has Paid Over 30 Billion Dollars To Creators
Over the past three years, YouTube has paid more than 30 billion dollars to creators, artists, and media companies as the YouTube creator community continues to grow in revenue and subscription.
In the United Arab Emirates, the percentage of the channels that make 6 figures or more in revenue is over 40% year over year. In Saudi Arabia, the percentage of the channels making 6 figures in revenue is over 20%. As for Egypt, the percentage of the channels that are making 5 figures in revenue is over 50% while over 4K channels have over 100K subscribers, which means over 40% increase, year over year.
Also, in Egypt, over 400 channels have over 1 million subscribers, which means an increase of over 45%, year over year. In Saudi Arabia, over 2.5K channels have over 100K subscribers, an increase of over 25%, year over year.
With the rise of many video platforms, YouTube knows how to stay ahead of them all.
