So, for those who have seen this PSA video I made yesterday (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr61PYFmgOc), today’s topic is easy: it’s about being a content creator and being able to control your own destiny. In particular, I’m focused in on the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) as well as what it takes to have access to YouTube Community. To get access to either, here are the criteria:
- Have 1000 subscribers (gets you YouTube Community access and eligibility for YouTube Partner Program)
- Have 4000 watch hours in the past 12 months (for YouTube Partner Program eligibility)
- Get accepted into the program (applies to YouTube Partner Program, I think YouTube Community is automatic)
To add some clarity, once you have 1000 subscribers, you can post YouTube Community messages and thus communicate with your subscribers. And once you have 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours in the past 12 months, you can control how your videos are monetized.
So, why did I make the PSA? It’s because of changes to the YouTube Terms of Service where non-YPP members will have ads shown on their videos without their ability to turn them off. Furthermore, small channels like mine have no ability to communicate with their subscriber base to let them know why something like this is happening on the channel, so this was my only option to reach my subscribers. But, even if I could communicate via YT Community, how would I tell my subscriber base what to expect ad-wise? Will the ads be at the beginning of the videos? Will they be in the middle of the viewing experience at random (horror of horrors!)? At the end? No idea.
Also what types of ads will be delivered? I personally don’t care to endorse crypto currencies if it means people are losing money on them left and right…
So, Google, if you are reading this, please, for those in YPP who have ads forced on their videos, at least let us control how they are delivered and what is seen. Seriously, it’s the least you can do.
And with that, maybe content creators can once again control their own destiny once more. Will it happen? Doubtful. But one can always hope…