YouTube Is Making It Harder for Creators to Earn Money — Here's Why

YouTube will make it harder for creators to qualify for paid content starting February 1, 2027. New creators will need 1,000 subscribers and either 8,000 hours of people watching their videos over the past year or 20 million views on their short clips (called Shorts) in the last 90 days, according to The Verge. Right now, the requirements are 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 watch hours or 10 million Shorts views.

Creators already earning money through YouTube must accept the platform's updated terms by January 31, 2027, to keep getting paid. Under the new rules, they also have to stay active to keep earning. That means maintaining at least 1,000 watch hours over the past year, getting 1 million Shorts views, or uploading two regular-length videos or five Shorts every 90 days.

The update also changes how creators earn money from Shorts. YouTube pools ad revenue from Shorts and shares it among creators, but under the new rules, creators need 10 million Shorts views in 90 days to earn a share of that pool. Dropping below that number will not kick them out of the program, which is different from the current policy that removes creators who go six months without posting anything.

At the same time, YouTube is expanding its cheaper subscription plan, called Premium Lite, to every country where it offers full Premium. When people pay for Premium, YouTube splits that subscription money with creators based on how much they are watched, giving 55 percent to creators of regular videos and 45 percent to Shorts creators. YouTube says creators typically earn more when a viewer pays for Premium than when that same viewer watches ads.

The changes come as YouTube tries to compete more directly with streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney Plus. In 2024, YouTube signed deals to broadcast shows from creators like Trevor Noah, building a content lineup that looks more like a traditional TV network.

Raising the requirements to get in and stay in serves two purposes. It weeds out channels that pump out large amounts of low-quality content just to earn ad money, and it pushes creators to post more regularly. The different rules for Shorts and regular videos acknowledge that creators work in different ways, though 10 million Shorts views in 90 days is still a demanding target for steady earnings.

The broader context here is YouTube shifting toward a future built on subscriptions rather than just ad revenue. Expanding Premium Lite gives viewers a cheaper way to skip ads, which fits YouTube's push to compete with premium TV services. As more money comes from subscriptions, creator incentives follow. In my view, a platform that pays creators more from paying subscribers than from ads is better for creators in the long run, even if the higher entry requirements mean fewer creators qualify at first. Watching my own kids move from endlessly scrolling through Shorts toward choosing what they watch through subscriptions over the past few years, the shift in viewing habits YouTube is chasing is real. The platform is simply adjusting its rules to match where the money is going.