Last month I spoke about YouTube’s decision to demonetise small YouTube Channels. Their new rule means that any channel that has less than 4,000 hours of watch time within the past 12 months and less than 1,000 subscribers is not eligible to display adsense ads.
Yesterday, that new rule went into force and my Rise Forums YouTube channel was demonetised.
Goodbye YouTube Partner Program
I received notice about this from YouTube yesterday in an email:
Hi Rise Forums,
As you probably heard, we recently announced updates to the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). We made these changes to address a spike in abuse on YouTube by bad actors like spammers, impersonators, and re-uploaders. Our goal is to ensure a healthy ecosystem where original creators can grow and thrive.
As of today, your channel, Rise Forums will no longer have access to monetization tools associated with YPP because it doesn’t meet the new threshold of 4,000 hours of watch time within the past 12 months and 1,000 subscribers. If you meet the new threshold at some point in the future, you’ll be automatically re-evaluated for YPP. The reviews typically take 1-2 weeks.
We understand that you may have lots of questions right now, so we’ve put together some FAQs that can help.
As I write this blog post, my channel has 349 subscribers and has had around 2,600 hours of watch time.
I believe YouTube’s decision was a knee jerk reaction from the negative publicity from YouTubers such as Paul Logan. If it reduces the number of spam videos and videos with illegal content, then long term this is a good thing; however I cannot help but feel that the made the requirements a little too high.
I’ve watched the reaction to this new rule in the YouTube community and it has upset a lot of YouTubers. Without doubt, this new rule will discourage many aspiring YouTubers from the community and they may be lost forever.
That will be a real shame, but it is hard to blame people who put less time into YouTube. How would you feel if you were making $20 to $100 from your YouTube channel every month and you are seeing profits grow week in, week out; only for the revenue to just be taken away from you?
The Future of My Channel
My Rise Forums YouTube channel was making around $200 per year so demonetisation is not a major concern. My channel is still at the beginning of its journey. Growth is slow, but the channel remains a place for me to pour my thoughts and ideas out and connect with viewers of my YouTube channel and readers of my blog.
The future of other channels remains uncertain. This new rule is gonna make it harder for spammers to make money with YouTube, but a lot of good YouTubers are gonna be punished.
Final Thoughts
YouTube remains the only viable option for people who want to produce videos and reach a large audience. It also remains the most attractive way to make money from video.
What this new rule did do, however, was remind everyone that we all have to play by YouTube’s rules. It’s their system and if they decide to change their guidelines, there’s nothing you can do.
Kevin