YouTube has announced the launch of the beta version of its product ‘YouTube Shorts’, which represents the company’s new short-form video experience for creating short catchy videos using mobile phones, in Kenya.
The product which debuted in September 2020 in 26 countries is now scheduled to be available across more than 100 countries around the world where YouTube is available, and as the name suggests, YouTube will allow creators to film up to one-minute videos from the mobile app. Part of the features is the inclusion of a multi-segment camera that enables creators to string multiple video clips together, providing the ability to record with music, control speed settings, and more.
Speaking on the innovation, the Global Product Manager for YouTube Shorts, Todd Sherman said:
“We want to make it easy and fun to create Shorts. As we continue to build Shorts alongside our creators and artists, we will be adding more features for users to try. As of today, the YouTube Shorts player has surpassed 6.5 billion daily views globally”
The product’s new features also include the ability to sample audio from videos all across YouTube with access granted to music artists and creators to have a large library of songs to use in their Shorts from over 250 labels and publishers, including Universal Music Group’s labels and publishing companies, Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Music Publishing, Warner Music Group and Warner Chappell Music, Believe, Merlin, Because Music, Beggars and Kobalt.
The introduction of YouTube Shorts offers a new way to watch and create videos on YouTube and the company has been looking at various ways to monetize the product. This will enable them to reward creators for their content just like the provision of the YouTube Shorts Fund, a $100M fund intended for distribution throughout 2021-2022.
