YouTube Makes it Easier for Content Creators to Monetise Videos

YouTube Creators have some big changes lined-up for them, which should make it easier than ever to make money from the videos they upload to YouTube, while a lot of other new features such as improved comment management and added audio tracks are now also available.

MobileBurn first reported the changes citing a tweet from last week by the official YouTube Creators account, which links to a video outlining the new changes coming to the video network.

The linked video outlines various new features centred on managing and monetising content directly from mobile devices, making it easier for content creators to make money from their hard work. To that end, the company announced a 'mobile app for creators', but it is as yet unclear the range of features its first iteration will bring, though video-editing tools are already on the list of features being looked at, with YouTube also asking for user feedback on desired features so it can deliver a more useful tool.

YouTube has also brought improved comment management (with blacklists, filters and other rules), a creator academy which has advice for everything from media tools to marketing to monetisation, free audio tracks that creators can use to make their videos more engaging, and also, artists can now share in revenue from the cover songs they make. Which means, yes, that version of you singing "Call Me Maybe" could one day make you rich.

Some more interesting features are coming soon as well, which include royalty free sound effects to complement the audio tracks already available, fan created captions (which will make it easier to localise popular videos), and also - direct to creator fan funding on YouTube.

That last point is a pretty big one - until now, if you were a filmmaker who wanted to crowdsource funds for a video project, you would have had to turn to a site like Kickstarter to raise the money, and then work with a video distributor like YouTube as well. With direct funding you can more easily reach audiences you have previously engaged with on YouTube; since the users don't have to go to a different site to donate money either, it becomes easier to make a donation as well.

This is obviously not something that will affect the majority of YouTube's users, but a good part of the network's success comes from the huge amount of user generated content on the site. YouTube's continued success depends on keeping these creators engaged, and the easier it is for people to make money off their work, the more likely they are to continue bringing fresh content to YouTube.

You can see the full announcement video below: