YouTube just raised the bar for creators who want to make money from advertising and YouTube Premium. Starting February 1, 2027, new creators will need double the current requirements for either watch time or Shorts views to qualify for ad revenue. Existing Shorts creators also have to keep up with a higher view count to stay in the program.
YouTube doubles ad-revenue eligibility requirement
If you are a new creator after that date, you will need 8,000 public watch hours in the past 12 months or 20 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days to start earning from ads and YouTube Premium. That’s double what it is now—currently, it’s 4,000 watch hours or 10 million Shorts views. The 1,000-subscriber requirement stays the same.
Existing Shorts creators face a new condition
This is YouTube's biggest update to its Partner Program rules since 2018. And it doesn’t just hit newcomers. Existing Shorts creators have a new bar to clear, too. To keep getting monthly ad or subscription revenue from Shorts, you’ll need to maintain 10 million qualified Shorts views over any 90-day period. If your numbers dip below that, YouTube won’t kick you out of the Partner Program, but your Shorts revenue sharing pauses until you hit the mark again. You can still make money from eligible long-form content during that time.
YouTube says the creators already making serious money from Shorts probably will not notice much difference, but they haven’t said how many channels might get bumped down.
Smaller creators still have another route
Smaller creators still have a foothold. The entry tier of the Partner Program isn’t going anywhere. You can unlock fan-funding and shopping perks with 500 subscribers, three public uploads in 90 days, and either 3,000 watch hours or 3 million Shorts views. That entry tier, though, doesn’t give you access to ad or YouTube Premium money.
YouTube also says it’s working on new ways for creators to earn—think bonuses for YouTube Shopping, incentives for brand deals, and payments if you help set a trend.
YouTube Shorts continues to grow
All this comes as Shorts has become a monster on YouTube, now racking up over 200 billion views every single day—way up from the 70 billion a day reported in 2024.
YouTube is rolling out Premium Lite to more regions, too, wherever YouTube Premium is offered. 60 per cent of net Premium Lite subscription revenue will go into a dedicated pool for creators. The company expects these changes to grow total creator payouts in 2027, though it’s still not clear what happens to smaller channels in the shuffle.
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