Shorts Monetization

What is Shorts monetization on YouTube?

Shorts monetization is the model YouTube uses to pay creators for short-form videos: ad revenue from the Shorts Feed is pooled each month, part of it covers music licensing, the rest is split between creators by their share of engaged views — and each creator keeps 45% of their allocation.

It works differently from long-form YouTube monetization, where ads run on your own videos. On Shorts, nobody earns from “their” ad alone — every monetizing creator is paid out of one shared pool. The pool design also absorbs music licensing: using a track in your Short changes neither your allocation nor your 45% share.

Who can earn from Shorts

Shorts ad revenue is open to channels in the YouTube Partner Program that have accepted the Shorts Monetization Module — the terms that switch on earnings from ads and YouTube Premium in the Shorts Feed. A channel reaches the program through either of 2 thresholds:

• 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, or

• 1,000 subscribers and 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.

Only public Shorts count toward the 10 million: views of private, unlisted or deleted Shorts, views from ad campaigns, and views of Image Posts in the Shorts Feed are excluded. Watch time from the Shorts Feed likewise does not count toward the 4,000 hours. YouTube also requires an eligible country, no active Community Guidelines strikes, 2-Step Verification, advanced features access, a linked AdSense for YouTube account, and compliance with the channel monetization policies — the complete list is on the official YPP eligibility page.

How Shorts revenue sharing works

YouTube describes 4 steps, applied per country each month:

1. Pooling. Revenue from ads shown between videos in the Shorts Feed is added together.

2. Creator Pool. The total is split between creators and music licensing. A Short with no music sends all of its associated revenue to the Creator Pool; with 1 track — half; with 2 tracks — a third.

3. Allocation. The Creator Pool is distributed by share of engaged views: a channel with 5% of all eligible engaged Shorts views gets 5% of the pool.

4. Revenue share. The creator keeps 45% of the allocated amount — with or without music.

YouTube Premium follows the same logic: 45% of the net Premium revenue allocated to Shorts is paid to monetizing creators, based on their share of subscription Shorts views in each country.

Which views count

Payouts are calculated on eligible engaged views only. YouTube excludes:

• views of non-original Shorts — unedited movie or TV clips, reuploads of other creators’ content, and compilations with nothing original added;

• artificial or fake views, such as traffic from click or scroll bots;

• views of Shorts that break the advertiser-friendly content guidelines.

2 timing rules also matter. Views accrued before you accept the Shorts Monetization Module are never counted retroactively. And Shorts longer than 1 minute that contain claimed third-party content are blocked from monetization, while Shorts of 1–3 minutes uploaded after October 15, 2024 can monetize under the standard revenue-sharing model.

Where to turn it on and track earnings

The Shorts Monetization Module is accepted in the Earn section of YouTube Studio once you are in the Partner Program. From the date you accept, eligible engaged views start counting.

Estimated daily Shorts Feed ad revenue appears in YouTube Analytics, and each Short’s monetization status is visible in the Content section of YouTube Studio — a Short whose views are being considered carries no “No ad earnings” notice. For ways to earn beyond Feed ads, see our guide on how to make money on YouTube Shorts.