YouTube Adds Enhanced Features To Goose Content Creator Monetization Efforts

Under fire from blockchain upstarts and big tech firms that are trying to chip away at its dominance among video influencers and other content creators, YouTube today has announced several enhancements to the ways its content creators can generate revenue.

The announcements came at the VidCon convention in Anaheim, Calif. The products include:

*** Super Stickers: Launching in the next few months, fans will be able to purchase animated stickers during live streams and premieres in order to demonstrate their love for creators and their content;

*** Enhanced Channel Memberships: YouTube already allows creators to set up subscriptions allowing users to gain access to special features. It’s now expanding that into levels, where creators can set up to five different price points for memberships, each level carrying different incentives. Fans can now opt to pay a $4.99 Channel Membership subscription for badges, emojis and access to exclusive live streams and extra videos.

*** Enhanced Merch Shelf Partners: YouTube already helps creators sell t-shirts, hats and other merchandise. Now, it has added more partners, including Crowdmade, DFTBA, Fanjoy, Represent and Rooster Teeth.

*** Learning Playlists:  A new feature that allows educational video creators to divide videos into chapters, spotlighting key concepts and allowing progress from beginners through advanced. YouTube has enlisted a limited number of partners for the new feature, including Khan Academy, TED-Ed, The Coding Train and Crash Course.

*** YouTube Giving – This fundraising tool is exiting beta and will launch in the next few months. Fans can click a donate button to send money to the nonprofit the content creator wants to spotlight.

YouTube also announced some changes to its copyright infringement tools. Copyright owners must now indicate the timestamp in the video using their content, while content creators can use an enhanced tool to more easily remove any infringing material.