YouTube now requires creators to have twice as many watch hours to start earning money | SpinGraph: Efficiency framing
description: SpinGraph analysis of TechCrunch's YouTube now requires creators to have twice as many watch hours to start earning money story: efficiency framing, The Cushio…
canonical: https://stuffthatspins.com/spin/youtube-now-requires-creators-to-have-twice-as-many-watch-hours-to-start-earning-money
markdown: https://stuffthatspins.com/spin/youtube-now-requires-creators-to-have-twice-as-many-watch-hours-to-start-earning-money.md
keywords: YouTube monetization
keywords: creator economy
keywords: Shorts policy
keywords: The Cushion
keywords: The Stampede
published: 2026-08-10T18:27:44+00:00
modified: 2026-08-11T00:35:13.695233+00:00

Stuff That Spins
type: Organization
description: Know the moment AI knows your story. Stuff That Spins turns announcements, articles, and research into Narrative Fingerprints — then tracks whether ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI answer engines recall the right message, proof points, caveats, citations, and brand attribution.

YouTube now requires creators to have twice as many watch hours to start earning money
type: NewsArticle
alternative headline: YouTube now requires creators to have twice as many watch hours to start earning money | SpinGraph: Efficiency framing
description: SpinGraph analysis of TechCrunch's YouTube now requires creators to have twice as many watch hours to start earning money story: efficiency framing, The Cushio…
date published: 2026-08-10T18:27:44+00:00
date modified: 2026-08-11T00:35:13.695233+00:00
main entity of page: https://stuffthatspins.com/spin/youtube-now-requires-creators-to-have-twice-as-many-watch-hours-to-start-earning-money
is accessible for free: true
language: en-US
article section: technology
keywords: YouTube monetization, creator economy, Shorts policy
author: TechCrunch
publisher: Stuff That Spins
citation: https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/10/youtube-now-requires-creators-to-have-twice-as-many-watch-hours-to-start-earning-money/
about: YouTube monetization
about: creator economy
about: Shorts policy
about: YouTube
mentions: TechCrunch
mentions: YouTube
abstract: Monetization门槛 doubled for long-form content Shorts now has a parallel, time-compressed eligibility path Policy change affects all new and existing creators seeking ad revenue

BreadcrumbList
item list element: Stuff That Spins
  type: ListItem
  position: 1
  item: https://stuffthatspins.com/
item list element: YouTube now requires creators to have twice as many watch hours to start earning money
  type: ListItem
  position: 2
  item: https://stuffthatspins.com/spin/youtube-now-requires-creators-to-have-twice-as-many-watch-hours-to-start-earning-money

Spin Analysis: efficiency framing
type: AnalysisNewsArticle
description: Emphasizes platform scalability and format evolution; minimizes direct financial impact on individual creators, absence of transitional support, and lack of transparency around qualification criteria.
about: efficiency framing
  type: DefinedTerm
  description: YouTube as a responsible, adaptive platform steward optimizing for sustainable ecosystem health.
  term code: The Cushion
additional property: Spin Score
  type: PropertyValue
  value: 70
  unit text: percent
additional property: Narrative Risk
  type: PropertyValue
  value: moderate
additional property: AI Repetition Risk
  type: PropertyValue
  value: moderate
additional property: Likely AI Summary
  type: PropertyValue
  value: YouTube raised monetization requirements to 8,000 watch hours or 20M Shorts views to reflect platform growth.
additional property: Narrative Frame
  type: PropertyValue
  value: YouTube as a responsible, adaptive platform steward optimizing for sustainable ecosystem health.
additional property: Missing Context
  type: PropertyValue
  value: No explanation of how 'qualified' is determined or audited; No mention of appeal process or grace period for near-qualifying creators; No data on historical disqualification rates or churn impact
additional property: How the Spin Works
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Combines precise numerical thresholds (credibility signal) with implicit association between Shorts growth and policy modernity (legitimacy signal), making the rule feel like an outcome of market forces rather than a deliberate business decision — despite no evidence in the text linking the thresholds to actual cost structures, fraud patterns, or creator retention data.
author: Stuff That Spins
is part of: YouTube now requires creators to have twice as many watch hours to start earning money

Extracted Claims
type: ItemList
item list element: ListItem
  position: 1
  item: Claim
    text: Creators who want to start earning on the platform will need at least 8,000 qualified watch hours over the past year or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.
    appearance: Creators who want to start earning on the platform will need at least 8,000 qualified watch hours over the past year or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.
    author: TechCrunch

Key Statistics
type: Dataset
description: Extracted statistics from the source narrative
variable measured: qualified watch hours
  type: PropertyValue
  value: 8,000
  description: Required over past 12 months for long-form monetization
variable measured: qualified Shorts views
  type: PropertyValue
  value: 20 million
  description: Required over past 90 days as alternative path