While Vimeo is taking a page out of YouTube's book with new copyright protection software that scans uploads, YouTube seems to be taking a page out of Vimeo's book with a Tip Jar-like feature that will allow fans to give money directly to the creators of a video. It's unclear how this will work as of right now, but they've also got a number of other new features in the works, like a better mobile app for creators, and royalty-free sound effects that you can use in your videos. Check out the video below for an explanation:
Here are some of the changes coming:
- A new mobile app just for YouTube video creators that gives more control over your channel
- Direct-to-creator contributions that will allow fans to give money directly to video creators
- Fan-contributed captions
- Royalty-free sound effects in the Audio Library
And here is what's available right now:
- Improved comment management: https://youtube.com/comments
- Check out the Creator Academy: https://goo.gl/W4AhnN
- More tracks in the Audio Library: https://youtube.com/audiolibrary
- Cover artists can now share in revenue from eligible cover song videos: https://goo.gl/WlD2Es
Obviously the biggest news here is a way for creators to make money off of fans beyond just a share of ad revenue on their videos. You'll likely have to be a YouTube partner to benefit from this new feature, though becoming a partner and enabling monetization on your account is easier than it has been in the past. Vimeo's Tip Jar doesn't seem like it has gained too much traction, so it will be interesting if the bigger viewership base of YouTube actually has people contributing serious money.
Link: See what’s new and what’s next in our Creator Preview -- YouTube
