YouTube at the VidCon 2018 online video conference in California has introduced a handful of new monetization and engagement features for creators. The channel memberships is same as one of existing service that the company has been testing for a while; sponsorships.
The new channel membership is where the viewers pay a monthly recurring fee of $4.99 to get unique badges, new emoji, Members-only posts in the Community tab, and access to unique custom perks offered by creators, such as exclusive live streams, extra videos, or shout-outs. YouTube says that this has been successful with this new business model.
On this note, YouTube also mentioned that it will soon expand this feature to eligible channels with more than 100,000 subscribers on YouTube under the new name Channel Memberships. The company also mentioned that it will soon allow creators to sell merch directly from their channel. From shirts with a logo to phone cases with a creator’s face, YouTube will be partnering with Teespring so creators can choose from over 20 merchandise items to customize and sell via a shelf on their channel.
This feature will be available to all eligible U.S.-based channels with over 10,000 subscribers starting today, and it is planning to bring even more merchandising partners and creators in soon. YouTube is also introducing a new way for creators to upload content to YouTube called Premieres. This feature lets creators debut pre-recorded videos as a live moment. YouTube will create a public landing page to build anticipation and hype up new content when creators want to release a premier video.
This also brings the ability to chat with each other in real time via live chat. Premieres also unlock new revenue streams. Premieres are starting to roll out to creators today and will be available broadly soon.