Starting February 2027, YouTube will dramatically raise the bar for new creators hoping to join the YouTuber Partner Program (YPP).
The platform announced that it will need 1,000 subscribers and 8,000 valid public watch hours over the previous 365 days. The current bar is 4,000 hours over 12 months. The Shorts route doubles as well; twenty million valid public Shorts views over 90 days, up from 10 million.
Existing creators will retain their monetization status; the changes signal a new era of competition and scale on the world’s largest video-sharing platform.
YouTube clarified that current YPP members will not lose their monetization status, however, they will continue earning from Shorts revenue sharing and falling below this threshold will suspend Shorts earning until the requirement is met again.
YouTube published the changes on Monday under the headline “New Opportunities to Earn.” YouTube is making it harder to earn money on its platform.
According to reports, more than eight million creators are already in, with none of them having clear 8,000 hours. The channel is currently sitting on 5,000 watch hours, qualifying this and not next year. YouTube says Shorts now draw more than 200 billion views a day.
Despite the hurdles, the changes also open new opportunities for premium lite revenue, where creators will earn from subscription revenue, with 55% share for long-form videos and 45% for Shorts.
It will also introduce milestone-based rewards, such as bonuses for shopping integrations, brand deals or trend creation. It will acknowledge the changing state of the creator economy without punishing the Partner who relies on ad revenue to run their channels.
