YouTube tightens rules for Kenyan creators chasing online money

Creators will need 1,000 subscribers and 8,000 watch hours in 12 months, or 20 million Shorts views in 90 days.

For YouTube Shorts, the platform’s short-form vertical videos similar to TikTok clips and Instagram Reels, the revenue pool will retain its separate 10 million-view threshold.

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YouTube is one of the world’s largest creator platforms, with more than three million creators, and currently requires at least 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 public watch hours in 12 months or 10 million valid Shorts views in 90 days for someone to earn full monetisation.

The tougher entry requirements set to take effect from February 2027 come as YouTube expands other avenues through which creators can earn money, including in Kenya.  Content creators already in the monetisation programme will also need to accept the new terms by January 31, 2027, to continue earning.

In recent years, YouTube has made several changes to its monetisation rules. In 2023, it lowered the entry thresholds, allowing smaller creators to access features such as channel memberships, where viewers pay monthly for exclusive perks, and Super Thanks, which lets viewers make one-off payments to support their favourite creators.

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Egline Samoei, a digital marketing strategist, says the changes highlight the risks of building a business around platforms that content creators do not control.

“You may spend years building a loyal audience on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or another platform, but the platform still decides the monetisation model and revenue-sharing rules. These rules can change,” she says.

“YouTube changes come just days after X also changed how it pays creators, ending its existing revenue-sharing programme and introducing a new system that puts greater emphasis on rewarding original content.

YouTube does not disclose its total global payouts, and creator earnings vary widely depending on the type of content, audience size, views and location. YouTube pays creators 55 percent of advertising revenue from long-form videos and 45 percent of the revenue allocated to Shorts.

The scale of potential earnings is illustrated by Forbes’ 2026 Top Creators report, which estimated that American creator Jimmy Donaldson, popularly known as MrBeast, earned $300 million (about Sh39 billion) in 2026, making him the world’s highest-paid digital creator.

The new changes, YouTube argues, will ultimately put more money into more creators’ pockets.

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“With these additional subscribers, creators can expect higher earnings. When a user signs up for Premium, partners, on average, earn more than when the user was watching ads. In fact, we expect to pay even more to creators in 2027 than we did in 2026,” YouTube said.

For Kenyan musicians, however, the higher thresholds could prove particularly significant.

YouTube has become an important distribution and discovery platform for artistes releasing new music, but the tougher requirements could make monetisation more difficult for emerging musicians building new channels from scratch.

At the same time, the broader changes point to YouTube trying to make creator income less dependent on advertising alone.

“We’re broadening revenue opportunities for creators to reward growth, engagement, and more by introducing new incentive programmes, rather than relying solely on ad revenue,” YouTube said.

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