YouTube wants to cater to “multiplatform” creators

The Future. YouTube’s short-form Shorts feature is still trailing behind TikTok when it comes to both user engagement and cultural buzz, but its induction into YouTube’s Partner Program may make it the lead in monetization for creators. That’s a welcome change for creators who can’t find consistency on TikTok. But with Shorts still not a great user experience (at least to creators), YouTube’s hope may be in convincing creators to make Shorts a part of their overall output, not the centerpiece.

Show me the money
TikTok may get all the short-form buzz, but creators are looking to YouTube to potentially provide the short-form money.

• Per Forbes, creators are waiting for Shorts to finally deliver on the promise of consistent revenue from creating short-form content — something that’s been elusive on TikTok, where most revenue comes from brand partnerships.
• That’s because the platform is starting its 45% revenue share for Shorts early next year — and with over 1.5 billion monthly viewers, it’s allegedly commanding more eyeballs than TikTok.
• But there’s a big issue — creators aren’t in love with Shorts. They complain that its features and UI aren’t up to par with TikTok or even Reels, making it a frustrating experience.

Those creator-satisfaction issues are a big deal when YouTube is losing ground on young people’s engagement. Tech company Qustodio found that young people spend an average of 56 minutes a day on YouTube, compared to 91 minutes on TikTok.

The long and short of it
While YouTube says it’s working on fixing those issues, it is also hoping to juice engagement by updating the tech and updating the culture of the YouTuber. How? Enter the “multiformat creator.”

The multiformat creator is one who, per Forbes, “maybe posts Shorts, dabbles in a long-form traditional video, and goes live every once in a while.” Using all of YouTube’s features could allow creators to mint multiple ways of making a paycheck (while also growing YouTube’s new features for them).

Like any business, diversification is key. Or as Jaeki Cho of NY-based foodie channel Righteous Eats says: “that’s why YouTuber is a job title.”