A few years ago, YouTube opened the doors of its partnership program to everyone, which allowed any content creator on the platform to monetize their videos. But now it looks like YouTube is pulling back on that move a bit and will now be requiring channels to have at least 10,000 views across all their videos before they can begin monetizing them.
According to the announcement on the company’s Creator Blog, the change is meant to combat impersonator channels that re-upload original content from other creators to try and earn free revenue from them. While not mentioned, the move could also be a response to the recent backlash the company has gotten from advertisers whose ads have been displayed alongside offensive content.
“This new threshold gives us enough information to determine the validity of a channel. It also allows us to confirm if a channel is following our community guidelines and advertiser policies. By keeping the threshold to 10k views, we also ensure that there will be minimal impact on our aspiring creators.”
YouTube is also implementing a new review process for new creators who apply for the platform’s partnership program. So when a new creator hits the 10,000 view threshold and applies for monetization, the company will review their content and activity to check if it lines up with their guidelines and policies.
[Source: YouTube Creator Blog via GamesIndustry.biz]
