YouTube is making updates to its partner program, and it hasn’t gone down well with a lot of users of the platform, who are complaining that it hurts small creators and encourages more AI channels.
The main gripe seems to be from people with smaller-sized channels, which make up the majority of YouTube creators.
The new shorts revenue-sharing requirements will start on Feb. 1st, 2027. To earn ads and Premium revenue each month from the Shorts Creator Pool, creators will need 1,000 subscribers + 8,000 watch hours (1 year) or 20 million Shorts views (90 days).
Shorts revenue won’t get paid monthly unless you hit 10 million views in the past 90 days (but you can keep YPP and earn from long-form even if you fall short). Premium Lite expansion means more chances for sub revenue.
Above, you can see a video from 3 years ago that talks about the Partner Program.
Here is what was published by YouTube:
Hi creators,
We started the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) almost 20 years ago in 2007 with a simple goal of helping you earn money from the content you love to create. Over the years, we’ve seen incredible growth across the platform with billions of viewers coming to YouTube to watch the content creators are uploading every day. Today, YPP remains the only program that pays creators consistently, transparently and at scale. In fact, in the last four years alone, we’re incredibly proud to have paid over $100 billion to creators, artists, and media companies. While YPP has also grown alongside the platform, the program has remained mostly unchanged since 2018. To reflect the growth of YouTube and allow us to invest in new incentive programs that directly support your growth, we’re making three important updates to the way you earn from YPP:
- Expanding Premium Lite
- Evolving the Shorts payout model & opportunities
- Updating YPP ads & Premium entry thresholds
With these changes, our total investment in creators remains unchanged. In fact, we expect to pay even more to creators in 2027 than we did in 2026. To keep earning from these features, you’ll need to accept the updated Watch Page Monetization Module, Shorts Monetization Module, and where applicable, the Commerce Product Module in YouTube Studio by Jan. 31, 2027. These terms are effective Feb. 1, 2027, so if you haven’t accepted the terms by that date, you’ll stop earning from the associated monetization features. We’re beginning to make the new terms available over the coming days. We’ll notify you via email and via a YouTube Studio notification when the new terms are available for you to review and accept.
EXPANDING PREMIUM LITE
Premium Lite is a new, lower-priced YouTube Premium membership that offers fewer interruptions so viewers can watch most YouTube and YouTube Kids videos ad-free, offline, and in the background. Viewers may still see ads on music content, Shorts, and when using search or browse. We are now expanding Premium Lite to all countries where Premium is available. For creators in YPP, this means more YouTube Premium members may engage with your content and actively contribute to your subscriptions earnings. When a user signs up for Premium, on average partners earn more than when the user was watching ads (based on 2026 performance). Learn more about how YouTube Premium & Premium Lite revenue share is calculated here.
EVOLVING THE SHORTS PAYOUT MODEL AND OPPORTUNITIES
To help ensure creators have more meaningful ways to earn from Shorts, especially those earlier in their journey, we are adapting the way the Shorts Creator Pool is distributed and are launching new incentive programs to reward growth and engagement.
New Shorts Revenue Sharing Requirements
Starting Feb. 1, 2027, to earn ads and Premium revenue each month from the Shorts Creator Pool, creators will need to maintain 10M qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days. If your channel already meets this threshold, you’re unlikely to see changes to your Shorts earnings. Channels below this threshold remain in YPP and continue earning on long-form content, with Shorts revenue sharing automatically resuming once they cross 10M qualified Shorts views again.
Launching New Shorts Incentive Programs
Creators who regularly post Shorts, including those in earlier stages who may fall below the 10M views mark, will soon benefit from new targeted incentive programs designed to support diverse revenue streams. These include bonuses for YouTube Shopping, incentives for brand deals, and earnings boosts for cultural trend activations. We will share specific criteria and how to opt in soon.
UPDATING YPP ADS & PREMIUM ENTRY THRESHOLDS
To keep up with the growth of YouTube, which now sees over 200 billion daily Shorts views and more than a billion hours watched on TV screens every day, we’re updating the entry requirements to unlock ads and Premium revenue sharing for new creators. Entry requirements will also now be referred to as qualified views and watch hours, previously valid public Shorts views and watch hours. If you are already in YPP, your YPP status & ability to earn is not impacted by this update.
Starting Feb. 1, 2027, YPP entry thresholds for new applicants are changing to 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days, or 20M qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. There are no changes to the eligibility requirements to gain access to fan funding features (ex: Super Chats & channel memberships), YouTube Creator Partnerships, or YouTube Shopping. These products will continue to help creators to start their earning journeys even earlier when they reach 500 subscribers and either 3,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days or 3M qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.
ADDITIONAL YPP TERMS UPDATES
We’re also making a few additional updates to our YPP terms to keep the program running smoothly. Sharing some more info below.
Staying Active in YPP
To better recognize creators’ consistent effort and reflect the realities of different formats, anyone who’s considered inactive will now have an extended 90-day window to meet a lower 1,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days or 1M Shorts views in the last 90 days to stay in the program. More information on how we define activity in our Help Center here.
Direct Shorts Revenue
To prepare for future earning opportunities, we are updating our terms to support new Shorts ad formats. With these new ad formats, if an advertiser runs Shorts ads to specifically target 5 or fewer channels, creators will earn 45% of that ad’s revenue in addition to regular earnings from the Shorts Creator pool.
Aligning Creators to Updated Fan Funding Terms
For creators who enabled fan funding features (like channel memberships or Super Chat) before 2023, you may still be on an older version of our terms called the “Commerce Product Addendum”. To keep our legal terms consistent, we are moving everyone to the current Commerce Product Module. There are no changes to eligibility thresholds, how the products work, or revenue share rates.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT OUR UPDATED YPP TERMS
Q: What happens if I don’t accept these new terms? You can accept some or all of these newly updated modules, but we encourage you to accept all to reach your full earning potential. If you don’t accept the updated terms by Jan. 31, 2027, you’ll stop earning from the associated monetization features beginning Feb. 1, 2027. To regain access to these monetization features you will need to accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio. There are no changes to other monetization features with these updated YouTube Partner Program terms and your decision to sign these terms does not impact your channel’s status in YPP.
Q: I’m currently in YPP and monetizing with ads, but currently don’t have the subscribers or watch time for these new eligibility thresholds. Will I be removed from YPP or lose access to monetize my content with ads on Feb. 1, 2027? No, beginning Feb. 1st, 2027, the new YPP entry eligibility requirements will only apply to new applicants. If you’re already in the program, you won’t be removed from YPP or lose access to monetize your long-form content with ads if your channel is under these new entry eligibility thresholds.
Q: I’m currently in YPP and monetizing my Shorts with ads, but currently don’t have 10M qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days. What will happen on Feb. 1, 2027? Starting Feb. 1, 2027, you will need to maintain 10M qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days to be eligible for ads and YouTube Premium revenue share from the Shorts Creator Pool in each month. This does not affect your ability to remain in YPP to continue earning in future months or from other YPP revenue streams like long-form ads, fan funding, or YouTube Shopping.
Q: What’s the revenue share model for Premium and Premium Lite? Creators share in a dedicated pool for each subscription type (30% of the net subscription revenue for Premium and 60% for Premium Lite). This pool is distributed to creators based on how much members watch their content, and from that distribution creators receive the standard revenue share: 55% for long-form videos and 45% for Shorts. More info about revenue sharing for Premium in our Help Center here. We hope this information helps you understand these changes ahead of the deadline on Jan. 31, 2027.
