YouTube Relaxes its Monetization Rules: Only 500 Subscribers Needed!

If you're a small creator on YouTube, get ready to monetize your channel faster than ever in 2024. The YouTube Partner Program is changing once again, and this time, you won't need as many subscribers or as much watch time to join up.

Starting today, you can apply once you have the following:

• 500 subscribers
• Three public uploads in the last 90 days
• 3,000 public watch hours in the previous 12 months

Alternatively, you can join the program without 3,000 watch hours, but instead, you'll need 3 million public YouTube Shorts views in the last 90 days.

Image credit: Official YouTube Blog

These options are much lower than the old requirements, which were 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 watch hours or 10 million public Shorts views.

Best of all, these new rules offer early access to some monetization features. YouTube announced the changes in a recent blog post, stating:

"These new partners will unlock access to fan funding features like channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, and the ability to promote their own products with YouTube Shopping."

As of writing, YouTube is rolling out these updates to creators in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Taiwan, and South Korea.

What About YouTube AdSense Revenue?

One drawback to these changes is that they don't give full access to the YPP. You'll get plenty of fan-funding options but must satisfy the old monetization requirements to unlock ad revenue.

So while 500 subs, three videos, and 3,000 watch hours gets you into the program, that's just the beginning. You will still need 1,000 subs plus 4,000 watch hours or 10 million Shorts views to monetize with ads.

The good news is that once you're in the YPP, you're in. You don't need to re-apply after reaching older milestones, and you'll unlock the revenue tools you didn't have before.

We know these changes are a lot to take in, so if you need extra details, watch this video to learn more about the new and improved YPP.

What This Means for Small Creators

Lowering the monetization requirements on YouTube is a fantastic idea. New creators have a chance to make money faster, and the opportunity may motivate them to grow a successful channel. YouTube is looking for ways to listen to, empathize with, and solve problems for small creators, which is always good.

On the flip side, small creators will only get some of what they want from this deal. They can access fan funding, but making money is only possible with an engaged community. And they may need more than 500 subscribers to earn satisfying revenue. A larger creator, with, say, 10,000 subscribers, has an easier time getting video donations, member subscriptions, or product sales because they have more chances to earn.

For example, if only 1% of 10,000 subscribers choose to fund a creator, that's still 100 active "customers." With 500 subscribers, 1% participation amounts to five customers.

So regardless of how fast you join the YPP, you need an authentic community to seize the entire opportunity. The first step is learning how to gain real subscribers on YouTube!