YouTube is making sustained Shorts reach—not simply admission to the YouTube Partner Program—a requirement for monthly Shorts revenue beginning February 1, 2027. A channel will need at least 10 million eligible Shorts views over the prior 90 days to receive a share of the Shorts Creator Pool and associated YouTube Premium revenue for that month.
That threshold does not remove a channel from YPP or shut off monetization for standard videos when it is missed. Instead, the creator loses Shorts pool revenue for the affected month and can qualify again later. For creators whose work is built primarily around short-form mobile viewing, the rule turns a one-time audience hurdle into an ongoing performance requirement.
Higher entry requirements for ad and Premium revenue
New creators seeking the YPP tier that includes ads and YouTube Premium revenue will still need 1,000 subscribers, plus one of two larger audience thresholds. Existing YPP members do not need to meet the new thresholds to retain standard-video monetization.
| Requirement path | Current threshold | Starting February 1, 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible public watch hours | 4,000 in the past 365 days | 8,000 in the past 365 days |
| Eligible Shorts views | 10 million in 90 days | 20 million in 90 days |
A lower YPP access tier remains available for fan-funding features, YouTube Shopping, and Creator Partnerships. It requires 500 subscribers and either 3,000 eligible watch hours or 3 million eligible Shorts views in 90 days.
How the revenue pools work
The familiar percentages in YouTube’s terms apply to different pools and revenue bases, rather than representing a direct cut of every dollar a viewer or advertiser spends. Standard videos continue to pay creators 55% of allocated revenue, while creators receive 45% of the revenue allocated to them from the Shorts Creator Pool.
Shorts ads shown between videos in the Shorts feed are collected into a shared pool, with eligible creators receiving allocations based on their share of eligible views. Licensed music can reduce the revenue that enters that pool before it is distributed: YouTube’s example assigns half of associated revenue to licensing when one music track is used, while two tracks leave one-third for the pool. The creator is still credited for all eligible views, and the 45% share remains unchanged.
There is also a new option for Targeted Shorts Ads. When an advertiser directs a campaign at a group of no more than five channels, eligible creators can receive 45% of that ad’s net revenue directly, in addition to ordinary Creator Pool earnings.
Premium revenue is handled through separate funds. YouTube places 30% of net YouTube Premium subscription revenue into a creator fund and 60% of net Premium Lite subscription revenue into a similar fund. Those funds are distributed according to consumption of creators’ content, after which the standard 55% rate for regular videos or 45% rate for Shorts applies to the creator’s allocation—not to the full subscription price.
Fan-funding revenue follows a different model. Creators continue to receive 70% of net revenue associated with the following features:
- Channel Memberships
- Super Chat
- Super Stickers
- Super Thanks
YouTube says it is moving creators still using the older Commerce Product Addendum, particularly accounts that enabled these tools before 2023, to its current Commerce Product Module. Approved refunds may be deducted from a creator’s share, and YouTube retains control over retail pricing and promotions.
An activity test and a January deadline
The updated rules also establish an activity standard for YPP channels. Beginning February 1, 2027, a channel will be considered active if it meets at least one of these conditions:
- 1,000 eligible watch hours in the past 365 days
- 1 million eligible Shorts views in the past 90 days
- Publication of two standard videos or five Shorts every 90 days
Channels classified as inactive receive an additional 90 days to return to at least 1,000 watch hours or 1 million eligible Shorts views. Separately, creators need to accept the updated modules in YouTube Studio by January 31, 2027. Failing to do so stops earnings from features tied to unaccepted modules on February 1, though the channel is not automatically removed from YPP and revenue can resume after the terms are accepted.
For tablet and mobile-first creators, where Shorts can be the fastest route to an audience, the change makes scale and consistency more consequential than ever. YouTube’s headline revenue shares remain in place, but access to Shorts earnings will depend on maintaining large rolling view totals; how many channels can consistently clear that bar remains to be seen.
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