YouTube paid over $70 billion to creators in last three years: Neal Mohan

Recently in a blog, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said that the platform has paid over $70 billion to creators, artists, and media companies over the last three years.

Mohan wrote that YouTube first started sharing the generated revenue with creators to reward creativity. Further, he claims that YouTube has paid the highest amount of money to creators.

He added, “Today, more than 3 million channels are part of the YouTube Partnership Program (YPP), which gives creators ways to earn money. YPP has paid out more than any other creator monetization platform.

In his letter, Mohan also mentions that YouTube Shorts has had a tremendous increase in viewership, “averaging over 70 billion views.” The number of channels posting on Shorts has also increased by 50%.

According to the YouTube Partnership Program, to monetise Shorts, one has to have 1000 subscribers, and 4000 public watch hours in the last year or 10 million views in the last 90 days. A more accessible monetisation tier is also available, where one has to have 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads over the last 90 days, and 3000 watch hours or 3 million views in the last 90 days.  

“With generative AI coming in, YouTube will develop new ways of empowering creative expression, managing rights, and driving revenue for our partners,” he added.

Explaining the importance of AI, YouTube’s CEO wrote that AI should empower human creativity, not replace it. He said everyone should have access to AI tools that will push the boundaries of creative expression.

Stating the goals set for YouTube in 2024, Mohan said that he has divided the company’s mission for the year into four key points - how they are integrating AI into the platform to enhance human creativity, why creator content should be given equal importance as traditional studio content, their entry into living room entertainment, and the most important, protection of the creator economy.