In many ways, YouTube is pretty much the big-all, end-all of content creation these days. It’s so ingrained in our everyday lives we probably take it for granted more than we think, yet at every turn—there it is.

For current or aspiring content creators, it's of endless importance and, to the company’s credit (or Google’s credit), it’s still one of the top destinations for content creators to go to if they’d like to actually get a relatively fair split of the ad revenue their content brings in.

And while that split isn’t changing just yet (although YouTube could certainly change that at a moment's notice), the requirements for new creators to be a part of this revenue-earning Partner Program are about to change.

Here’s what you need to know.

YouTube Partner Program Changes

YouTube Premium Lite and Shorts

Starting on February 1st, 2027, YouTube announced that creators will need 8,000 watch hours over 12 months or 20 million Short views in 90 days to be eligible for the Partner Program and its revenue-sharing.

There are also some other changes coming which YouTube has outlined with these distinctions for what’s going to be different, and what’s going to remain the same:

What’s changing:

  • More opportunity for subscription revenue through premium lite
  • Rolling minimum performance requirement to earn monthly on Shorts
  • Entry thresholds for new YPP channels for ads and premium revenue

What’s not changing:

  • Revenue share split across long-form and Shorts
  • Eligibility for fan funding and shopping products
  • Channel’s existing YPP status

The other changes concern YouTube Premium Lite and Shorts.

YouTube Premium Lite and Shorts

First, let’s look at Premium Lite, which YouTube is rolling out to all countries where YouTube Premium is currently offered and will offer uninterrupted, offline, and background viewing of most content.

Creators in this program will earn money from these subscriptions moving forward through a dedicated revenue pool for each subscription type: 30% of net subscription revenue for Premium and 60% for Premium Lite.

The company is also updating how it distributes Shorts revenue to creators with a focus on driving conversation and engagement on YouTube.

And while the new requirement for creators is to reach 10 million qualified Shorts views over a 90-day span to become eligible for ads and subscription revenue sharing, channels below this threshold will also be able to remain in the YPP and continue earning for long-form content, with Shorts revenue sharing automatically resuming once they cross 10 million views again.

More Info

All of these updates are covered on YouTube’s blog here.

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