YouTube has announced a big new step it is making when it comes to the improvement treatment of those signed to its Partner Program, revealing that it will now allow content creators to continue to monetize their videos even after Content ID claims have been made against them.
YouTube’s Content ID process has become hugely divisive in recent years, with many complaining that it unfairly prevents video makers from being able to monetize their videos after a claim has been made, regardless of whether that claim is viable. YouTube videos are monetized by way of advertisements that those signed to the Partner Program can choose to put in their videos, though once a third-party has made a Content ID claim – or one has been automatically filed by YouTube’s flawed algorithms – the video with the claim made against it loses its ability to be monetized, effectively ensuring that it can no longer generate revenue for the channel that uploaded it.
This led to the creation of the #WTFU (Where’s The Fair Use) campaign, led by popular video maker Doug Walker, which brought into question the validity of YouTube’s Content ID system and the abuse of the Fair Use act that had become so prevalent on the video-sharing site. YouTube vowed to improve its measures to protect its partners as a result of this campaign, and now the site has unveiled the first step towards achieving this. In a blog post, YouTube described how it would now allow content creators to continue monetizing their videos even after a Content ID claim has been made, with creators able to continue earning revenue from these videos until the dispute has been settled. While the creator will not immediately be able to access this money, it will be held by YouTube until the resolution of the claim, with YouTube then either distributing the revenue to the creator or the third party.
YouTube outlined the changes using the below image:
Image Credit: BlogSpot / YouTubeCreator
While this is only the first step in resolving the issues many have with YouTube, and still does not address the inherent flaws of the site’s handling of copyright claims, it does at least ensure that those who have Content ID claims made against them will not automatically lose out on money regardless of the validity of the claim.
Hopefully, this is the first change YouTube makes in a laundry list of improvements its partners would like to see, but at least it represents a step in the right direction.
