YouTube makes it tougher to make money

YouTube has just made it tougher to make money through its hugely popular video-sharing platform. But it says it has a pretty good reason to do so: To curb content theft and promote serious, video-makers passionate about the medium, a thought shared by Bengaluru's popular YouTubers.

Until 2017, to be eligible for monetisation under the YouTube Partner Programme (YPP), a video channel had to clock 10,000 views. This has now been escalated to 4,000 hours of watchtime within the past 12 months. Besides, the channel will have to be popular enough to record 1,000 subscribers.

The immediate trigger for this rule amendment was a controversial video by YouTube star Logan Paul, who put up an objectionable content on the platform. But YouTube's action in curbing such practices ended up polarising audiences and creators.

On February 20, YouTube will implement the amended rule across existing channels. A blogpost from the platform says: "On that date, channels with fewer than 1,000 subscribers or 4,000 watch hours will no longer be able to earn money on YouTube. When they reach 1,000 subs and 4,000 watch hours they will be automatically re-evaluated under strict criteria to ensure they comply with our policies."

For Bengaluru-based YouTuber Niharika N M, whose channel has a whopping 1.1 lakh subscribers, the amended rules could help curb channels that rely on random, stolen content. "I am sure the tougher conditions will encourage those for whom original video production is a passion," she explains.

But what about newbies experimenting with different content? Niharika has an advice for such amateur videomakers: "Don't get demotivated. You can accumulate views bit by bit. The only way to grow is to get passionate about video-making. Money will follow."

Having made his mark with original comedy skits and inspiration videos in just 16 months, YouTuber Imran Khan had cracked the popularity code. His channel has about 2 lakh subscribers today. But there are no shortcuts, reminds Khan. "YouTube is a platform that almost every youngster is hooked onto. That is why you need to keep its content very genuine, and not let immature users upload our content in their channels without any credits," he says.