YouTube has distributed billions to creators, artists, and media companies over the past four years.
During the ‘Made on YouTube’ event in New York City on Tuesday (September 23), the platform disclosed these payouts and introduced new AI-powered tools designed to facilitate content creation.
The platform has attributed this significant financial distribution largely to the increasing number of users watching YouTube on television screens.
As more viewers opt to watch content on their TVs, YouTube reports a 45 percent increase in the number of channels earning over $100,000 annually from television viewers alone, compared to the previous year.
YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, Johanna Voolich, commended creators for their influence on culture, stating: “Creators shape culture and entertainment in ways we never thought possible.”
Owned by Google, YouTube has disbursed more than $100 billion to its creators over the past four years. This announcement coincides with YouTube’s 20th anniversary, as it continues its pursuit to remain among the world’s leading and most profitable media companies.
Beyond financials, YouTube highlighted its new AI capabilities that may transform content creation on the platform.
For Shorts, YouTube’s answer to TikTok’s vertical video content, creators will soon access AI tools to refine raw clips into completed edits, complete with music, transitions, and voiceovers.
There’s also a function that converts dialogue from eligible videos into songs, which can be directly incorporated into a Short.
Additionally, Google’s new AI video generator, Veo 3, is set to be integrated into Shorts. This technology utilizes a portion of YouTube’s extensive video archive for training purposes.
This initiative has sparked some concern—earlier in the year, numerous creators expressed surprise that their content was being used for this purpose, as reported by CNBC.
The financial figures are staggering. Last year, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan shared that the platform had distributed $70 billion to creators between 2021 and 2024. As of today, this amount has increased by an additional $30 billion.
YouTube now boasts over 20 billion videos across categories such as music, Shorts, and podcasts.
This could be an opportune moment to start vlogging. If you’re exploring career options, consider investing in a microphone and camera and start creating.