YouTube’s policy on Patreon, external links will hit new creators hardest

YouTube has come under criticism from creators who say they can’t link out to their Patreon accounts on video end slates anymore.

A YouTube representative confirmed to Polygon that links to Patreon and other external websites — merchandise shops, websites or crowdfunding platforms — aren’t being removed entirely, but changes are being made. To help combat inappropriate and abusive content, YouTube is asking all of its creators to join the YouTube Partners Program in an attempt to better protect the content on its site.

“Creators are being asked to join the YouTube Partner program, so that we can evaluate the validity of the channel, as well as determine whether the channel is following our community guidelines and advertiser policies,” the representative said. “This update is meant to curb abuse and does not affect current YouTube partners or existing end cards.”

The issue with YouTube’s policy is that it requires users reach 10,000 public channel views before creators can apply to be part of the program. That means those who are just starting out and have less than the required 10,000 views won’t be able to link out through externally-linking end cards in video. Creators will still be able to include links in the video’s description underneath the video.

A Patreon representative told Polygon that the company is currently investigating the situation, but the company’s CEO, Jack Conte, called the move hurtful for creators.

Part of the issue with YouTube’s removal of the Patreon links in video end cards is that it cuts off a form of monetization for creators. Monetization has become a battleground for YouTube creators following changes made throughout the year by YouTube. After a string of racist, vulgar videos came to the attention of big advertisers like Audi and Toyota, those companies threatened to pull their ads from YouTube. Advertisers wanted more control over where their ads were going and, as a result, YouTube issued new monetization rules that affected thousands of creators.

At the end of August, Ryan Wyatt, YouTube’s head of gaming, content and partnership, issued a statement about the demonetization changes and the algorithm issues the company was dealing with. Wyatt admitted that engineers were trying to work on improving YouTube’s algorithm but explained the company would need time and help from creators to do so.

With new controls and guidelines implemented, many creators have seen their earnings return to normal as advertisers resumed their campaigns. As a part of these recent changes, however, some videos were classified as not suitable for all advertisers, limiting the number of ads served on those videos. There was also no ability to directly appeal in Video Manager. So on August 7th, we announced that we’ve expanded the ability for creators to appeal videos that have been receiving fewer ads.

What does this mean for gaming creators? It means that if you see a yellow icon in your video dashboard and feel our automated systems got it wrong, PLEASE APPEAL. With 400 hours of video uploaded every single minute, we rely on machine learning to evaluate content across the platform. But no system is perfect. When you appeal, our reviewers take a look and their decisions help our systems get smarter over time. Deleting the video and re-uploading won't help.

Due to the monetization changes, more YouTubers started seeking out other options for payment to keep their jobs. A quick search on YouTube for “youtube monetization patreon” leads to more than six million results, full of explainers and testimonials about why the sudden migration was happening.

YouTube

The idea behind YouTube’s change is to curb channels that were using the feature in direct violation of the company’s terms of service. By ensuring that channels who can link out to external sites through an end card on a video are part of the Partners program, YouTube can verify the type of content that appears on its site.

More information about YouTube’s monetization policy can be read on its creators blog.