Today at VidCon, YouTube announced some new monetization options for content creators. I'm sure most of you have heard about the adpocalypses, where videos have gotten mass-demonetized, oftentimes before they're even published. This has led many creators to seek other means of making a living, most notably with Patreon. But YouTube is trying to rebuild the bridge with them by offering some new ways of more effectively making money, but outside of ads.

The highlight is Channel Memberships. Much like Twitch Subscriptions, users can choose to pay $4.99/month to support their favorite creators. They'll get exclusive perks, like limited livestreams, emojis, shoutouts, and whatever else the creator may want to offer. Channels with more than 100k subscribers will be eligible for this option, though YouTube says it hopes to expand that in the coming months.

In partnership with Teespring, YouTube is also offering creators an easy method to design and sell merchandise. Twenty items will be available for customization and U.S.-based channels with more than 10,000 subscribers will be eligible.

Finally, YouTube is introducing Premieres, which allow content creators "to debut pre-recorded videos as a live moment." This means that you can be notified when a new video is planned to go up and hop in with everyone else to watch it when it goes live. Chat will be available, and YouTube says that Super Chat and Channel Membership perks will be available with Premieres. Any channel above 10,000 subscribers is eligible.

Will this mend the fragile ties between YouTube and its content creators? Time will tell – though several of the ones I follow are a bit skeptical – but at least YouTube is doing something instead of staying silent like it usually does.

Source: YouTube