AdTech Bytes #75 - There's More Money On YouTube Up For Grabs

Before we start with this week’s story, here’s the tweet of the week -

Antongiulio Staniscia , digital media specialist at Adnkronos, pointed out how users are finding Amazon ads more relevant while brands are still focusing on Meta and Google. Read this article by The Economist that talks about how Amazon is attacking the $300Bn advertising business of the duopoly. Also, read AdTech Bytes30 - Is Amazon the new Google? and AdTech Bytes 39 - Whatever Happens, It’s Always Amazon That’s Winning .

YouTube Partner Program: More Money For Creators

Now back to our main story. YouTube announced updates to its YouTube Partner Program (YPP) yesterday. What this means is that creators can make more money on YouTube. Before we get to know what’s new at YouTube, it is important to know why this happened in the first place.

Back in April earlier this year, Google published its revenue report. It didn’t come as a surprise that YouTube, which had been a significant contributor to Google’s ad revenue, stopped growing.?

Google attributed this to the Russia-Ukraine war but later admitted that privacy changes by Apple also had an impact. However, there was no mention of rising competition from TikTok. Now, the changes to YPP make it clear that TikTok is indeed a major threat.

The updates to YPP introduce ads on YouTube Shorts and Creator Music . By getting ads on Shorts, YouTube is directly attacking TikTok. While TikTok rolled out a 50% ad revenue share for top creators [Source ], YouTube’s offer is something creators cannot ignore.?

For Shorts Creators, YouTube is moving from the Shorts fund it had temporarily set up, to revenue-sharing (just like long-form videos) Shorts creators will be taking away 45% of the total ad revenue generated based on their share of total Shorts views.?

While TikTok does allow creators to earn with its Pulse program , the focus is still on advertisers. On the other hand, YouTube doesn’t care if you are a top creator or not, it pays you if you are eligible. This will surely get more creators back to YouTube and brands are most likely to follow suit.