YouTube Launches Fund To Reward Short-Form Video Creation in the MENA

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YouTube announced the arrival of its YouTube Shorts Fund in each of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Morocco.

Starting December 5, the company will reward creators and artists who make creative and unique Shorts for their contributions. The global US$100M fund was initially announced back in May and is already available in a number of markets around the world.

Shorts is a new feature YouTube rolled out in July for anyone who wants to create short, catchy videos using nothing but their mobile phones. As of July 2021, videos in YouTube’s Shorts player – which helps people around the world watch short videos on YouTube – are receiving over 15 billion daily views.

“Since rolling out Shorts in the Middle East and North Africa earlier this year, we’ve seen great growth in viewership and creation. The Shorts Fund was the logical next step as we build our long-term monetization plan for Shorts,” said Tarek Amin, Director of YouTube in the Middle East and North Africa. “YouTube has helped an entire generation of creators and artists turn their creativity into businesses, and in MENA the number of creators earning five and six figures from YouTube continues to grow year on year. The Fund is yet another tool in YouTube’s storytelling toolbox,” he added.

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In order to be eligible for the fund, creators must meet the following criteria:

• Channels need to have uploaded at least one eligible Short in the last 180 days.
• Channels need to abide by YouTube’s Community Guidelines, copyright rules, and monetisation policies.
• Channels uploading videos with watermarks or logos from third-party social media platforms, non-original videos (for example, unedited clips from movies or TV shows), or videos reuploaded from other creator’s channels will not be eligible.
• Channels do not need to be currently monetizing on YouTube to be eligible.
• Creators must be above the age of majority in their country/region.

Qualifying channels can earn anywhere between $100–$10,000 each month to start, with bonus payment amounts adjusted based on the channel’s total Shorts performance and their audience’s location.YouTube plans to expand the fund to even more countries in the coming months.

The Shorts Creator Fund is one additional way through which creators and artists can monetise their content on YouTube — from advertising to Paid Digital Goods, merchandise, branded content and more.

Over the last three years, YouTube has paid more than $30 billion to creators, artists, and media companies. In the Middle East and North Africa, the YouTube creator community continues to grow in revenue and subscription:

• In the United Arab Emirates, the percentage of YouTube channels making 6 figures or more in revenue (AED) is up over 40 per cent, year over year.
• In Saudi Arabia, the percentage of YouTube channels making 6 figures or more in revenue (SAR) is up over 20 per cent, year over year
• In Egypt, the percentage of YouTube channels making 5 figures or more in revenue (EGP) is up over 50 per cent, year over year
• In Egypt, over 4k channels have over 100K subscribers, an increase of over 40 per cent, year over year.
• In Egypt, over 400 channels have over 1M subscribers, an increase of over 45 per cent, year over year.
• In Saudi Arabia, over 2.5k channels have over 100K subscribers, an increase of over 25 per cent, year over year.