Protecting creator economy will be foundational: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan

Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Shorts may be grabbing all the headlines for user-generated content or the creator economy, but the original of all these will remain YouTube.

The latest details of the creator economy just highlight this. YouTube has a total of three million channels under the YouTube Partners Programme (YPP), which allows creators to make money. Importantly, YouTube paid $70 billion to creators, artists, and media companies over the last three years through the YPP.

Neal Mohan, Chief Executive Officer of YouTube in his annual letter to the YouTube community, said that more people created content last year than ever before and the three million channels was a new milestone.

With artificial intelligence driving another evolution, it raised many questions, and for this Mohan chalked out four big bets.

The first big bet is artificial intelligence empowering human creativity. “We’re approaching advances in artificial intelligence with the same mission that launched YouTube years ago. We want to help everyone create. Artificial intelligence should empower human creativity, not replace it. And everyone should have access to artificial intelligence tools that will push the boundaries of creative expression,” he wrote.

Some of the tools that will further aid creators include Dream Screen, artificial intelligence-generated backgrounds for YouTube Shorts, Music AI Incubators, and other features. “The next generation of storytellers has the power to create in the palm of their hands. Shorts is an easy way for anyone to get started, and artificial intelligence innovation will make it possible for even more people to create,” he added.

Shorts is averaging over 70 billion daily views, and the number of channels uploading Shorts has grown 50 per cent year-on-year.

The second focus area is the creators themselves. Mohan believes that content created by creators cannot be just defined as UGC. Mohan writes that it’s not just the entertainment industry that is tapping into this, but even world leaders, who are tapping into this ecosystem to reach a wider audience.

“Viewers are directly supporting their favourite creators through fan funding features like channel memberships. The number of creators using memberships increased more than 50 per cent last year, and creators are seeing the impact of fan funding,” said Mohan.

While Mohan did not say it directly, YouTube is clearly becoming a competition to web platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime among others. He said that the next frontier for YouTube is the living room and subscriptions segment.

Mohan said, “Viewers are directly supporting their favourite creators through fan funding features like channel memberships. The number of creators using memberships increased more than 50 per cent last year, and creators are seeing the impact of fan funding.” In the last three years, the number of top creators who received the majority of their watch time on the big screen increased more than 400 per cent.

In an earlier interview with Business Standard, Ishan John Chatterjee, Director, India YouTube, said that connected TV has been the fastest growing surface for the company in the last five years.

Globally, YouTube now has eight million subscribers to YouTube TV.

Finally, protecting the creator economy will be foundational. “Protecting the creator economy is foundational to everything we do, and it’s good for business,” he said.

Our youth products reach more than 100 million active viewers every month, and we’re supporting the growth of kids and teens thoughtfully and in coordination with parenting and mental health experts.

He also wrote that another way YouTube upholds responsibility is connecting people with high-quality information. “More than 50 countries will hold elections this year. We’re ensuring that when people look for election news on YouTube, authoritative sources are prominent in their searches and recommendations,” he said.

“This year, we’ll help policymakers and partners across the industry see the economic and entertainment value that creators bring to the table. Being a creator is a full-time job with an international audience, but most governments don’t account for creators in their labour data. We believe creators should be recognised for their work, and creators at the top of their game should be acknowledged in key industry forums,” said Mohan.

First Published: Feb 06 2024 | 11:50 PM IST