YouTube Shorts revenue sharing starts February 1 as new Partner Program agreement rolls out

Ben Schoon | Jan 9 2023 - 11:49 am PT

In one of its biggest moves for short-form videos, YouTube has just confirmed that revenue sharing for YouTube Shorts will begin on February 1.

Announced in a video on the YouTube Creators channel today, a new contract for the YouTube Partner Program is rolling out starting this week. Accepting new agreement is required of all creators earning money from the Partner Program, and must be signed by July 10, 2023 to continue with monetization going forward.

The new agreement has been restructured by YouTube to include “Modules,” something that YouTube says will offer creators more flexibility in how they earn money from YouTube.

All creators will be required to sign the “Base Terms” which include things like content policies, but beyond that there are three other sections. The first is the “Watch Page Monetization Module” which relates to long-form or live stream content across all YouTube products. Signing up for this module grants a creator the ability to earn money from videos watched on the YouTube website (or apps) as well as content embedded on third-party sites.

The major new addition is the “YouTube Shorts Monetization Module,” which allows for earning money for short-form content on YouTube. Revenue here is earned through ads or YouTube Premium, and is available for “eligible Shorts” as of February 1, 2023. After that date, creators will start to earn money from Shorts whenever they sign the agreement.

YouTube explains on a support page:

Shorts ad revenue sharing begins February 1, 2023. To be eligible, monetizing partners will need to accept the Shorts Monetization Module – terms that let you earn from ads and YouTube Premium in the Shorts Feed. If you accept the Module after February 1, 2023, Shorts ad revenue sharing will apply to your channel’s eligible Shorts views starting on the date you accept. Shorts views accrued prior to accepting the Shorts Monetization Module are not eligible for Shorts ad revenue sharing.

What is an “eligible Short” for YouTube? It’s explained that non-original content will not be eligible for revenue sharing. This includes unedited clips from movies or TV shows, content from other creators on YouTube or other platforms, and compilations with no original content attached. Click/scroll bots will also leave Shorts views ineligible.

YouTube further details how Shorts revenue is split here, including explaining more on how licensed music affects revenue.

Finally, the new Partner Program also includes the “Commerce Product Addendum” which unlocks Fan Funding features such as Super Chat. This section won’t require re-signing if you’ve already opted in.

Channels that do not accept the updated Partner Program terms by July 10, 2023, will be removed from the program with all monetization stopped, and re-qualification required to join the program again.