YouTube has brought a major change for creators by updating its revenue-sharing rules for advertisements and YouTube Premium under the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). ]
The decision could be a major setback for new creators who want to earn money by making videos and YouTube Shorts.
The new rules will come into effect on February 1, 2027. Under the updated system, the eligibility requirements for earning from ads and YouTube Premium will be doubled.
Here is what the new rules mean and how they could affect small and new creators.
New Eligibility Rules for Creators
Starting February 1, 2027, a new creator who wants to earn money from advertisements and YouTube Premium through YPP will have to meet one of these two requirements:
Long-form videos: Creators must complete 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days. Earlier, the requirement was 4,000 watch hours.
YouTube Shorts: Creators must get 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. Earlier, the requirement was 10 million views.
YouTube has described this as the biggest change to YPP since 2018. However, the new entry requirements will apply only to new creators.
People who are already part of the YouTube Partner Program will not be affected by these higher requirements.
What If Creators Do Not Meet the New Target?
Creators who cannot reach the new advertising eligibility targets will still have other ways to earn money on YouTube.
Fan Funding and Shopping Rules Remain the Same
The requirements for features such as Super Chat, Super Thanks, Channel Memberships and YouTube Shopping will not change. Creators can continue to use these monetization options under the existing rules.
Existing Shorts Creators Have Different Rules
Creators who are already earning revenue from Shorts will need to maintain 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days to continue sharing advertising revenue.
However, their channels will not be removed from YPP if their Shorts views fall below 10 million. Once they reach 10 million views again, their Shorts advertising revenue sharing will automatically resume.
Why Has YouTube Increased the Requirements?
YouTube says the stricter rules are linked to the platform’s rapid growth. According to the company’s official blog post, YouTube now gets more than 200 billion Shorts views every day, while more than 1 billion hours of content are watched on TV screens each day.
There are currently more than 3 million active creators in the YouTube Partner Program.
YouTube says it wants to create a system that provides better rewards to its most active and high-quality creators. The company also expects to pay creators more in 2027 than it did in 2026.
New Ways for Creators to Earn Money
YouTube also wants creators to become less dependent on advertising revenue. To support this, the company is introducing new incentives for channels that have fewer than 10 million Shorts views.
Shopping Bonus
Creators can receive an additional bonus for selling products through YouTube Shopping.
Brand Deals and Trends Incentives
YouTube will offer exclusive earning boosts to creators who begin working with brands and those who help create new trends.
Premium Lite Revenue
YouTube is rolling out its Premium Lite plan in all countries. Under the new system, 60% of Premium Lite’s net subscription revenue will go into a creator pool.
From this pool:
55% will go to long-form video creators.
45% will go to Shorts creators.
Small Creators Raise Concerns
After YouTube announced the changes, several creators on social media platform X expressed concerns about the new rules.
Small creators believe the higher requirements could make it harder for new content creators to use YouTube as a source of income.
They are especially concerned about reaching 8,000 watch hours without earning any initial advertising revenue, saying that achieving this target could be extremely difficult for new channels.
