YouTube India, through a series of posts on Instagram and community posts on YouTube, has busted some of the most popular myths about copyright, channel performance, content creation, and YouTube Partner Program (YPP), its monetization program allowing creators to earn ad revenue from YouTube.
Becoming a YouTuber or a content creator has now become the new dream career for most youngsters around the world. And as the creator economy is growing day by day, so are the myths around content creation.
If you also have the desire to become a successful YouTube creator, then you might have questions about its scope in terms of career, required equipment and investment to start content creation and many other questions filled with different misconceptions.
Here, you’ll get answers to your questions about content creation where some of the most widely known YouTube myths are busted by the official social media handle of YouTube India, giving you facts and true information.
Content Creation Myths vs Facts
Myth: YouTube is just for fun, not a career.
Fact: Content creation can be a hobby, a side hustle or a full-time job- your call.
Myth: Creating a community on YouTube is quick and easy!
Fact: Building an audience base and community can take time and consistency.
Myth: Creating content for only one genre can garner more viewers.
Fact: Not necessarily, you can pick and experiment with genres you’re most comfortable with and see where it takes you.
Myth: You need heavy gear and equipment for shooting videos.
Fact: No! If you have a phone, that’s enough. Just starts recording.
Myth: So many creators are already doing well. You shouldn’t even try.
Fact: Wrong! We all start somewhere. Get started and find your niche.
Myth: Everybody you know should like your content.
Fact: Not important. What matters is that you’re proud of it.
Myth: You need filmmaking experience to become a creator on YouTube.
Fact: Absolutely not! Just trust your instinct and get started.
Myths about YouTube Channel Performance
Myth: I need to upload daily or at least once a week to grow my channel.
Fact: No! Over the years we have found that growth in views is not correlated with time between uploads. Many creators have established an audience through quality over quantity.
Myth: There is a best publishing time to upload videos.
Fact: No, publish time is not known to impact a video’s long-term performance. However, publish time is important for formats such as Live and Premiere videos.
Myth: If one of my video under-performs, it is going to hurt my channel.
Fact: What actually matters is how viewers reply to each video when it’s recommended to them. What may lead to a decline in overall channel views is when viewers stop watching most of your videos when they’re recommended to them.
Myth: Average percentage viewed is more important than average views duration metric.
Fact: Our discovery system uses absolute and relative watch time as signals for audience engagement and we encourage you to do the same. Broadly speaking, relative watch time is more important for short videos and absolute watch time is more important for longer videos.
YouTube Copyright Myths Busted
Myth: Giving credit to the copyright owner means you can use their content.
Fact: You have to secure the rights to all copyright-protected elements before an upload.
Myth: It’s fine to have just a few seconds of copyrighted content.
Fact: Any amount of copyright-protected content used without permission may result in a copyright claim.
Myth: Content you recorded yourself from TV, a movie theatre, or the radio is okay to use.
Fact: Just because you recorded something doesn’t always mean you own rights to upload it. If your recording includes copyright-protected music, you’d still require the owner’s permission.
Myth: Other creators do it, so you can too.
Fact: Even if a similar uploads like yours exist, it doesn’t mean you have the rights to post the content.
Myths about YouTube Partner Program
Myth: I have met the eligibility criteria, my channel is now under the YouTube Partner Program.
Fact: Meeting the criteria alone is not enough, you need to apply for YPP in the Earn section of YouTube Studio and undergo a review process.
Myth: All of my content counts under ‘valid public watch hours’ or ‘valid public Shorts views’.
Fact: Only public long-form videos or Shorts are counted under this, Private, deleted, unlisted videos or livestreams and Ad campaigns don’t count.
Myth: My count just dropped after applying to YPP, I will no longer be eligible for review.
Fact: It doesn’t matter if your subscriber or watch hour count drops while waiting for review. If you’ve met the criteria, YouTube will still review your channel for YPP suitability.
Myth: I applied for YPP and got rejected. I cannot be a part of YPP in the future.
Fact: If it isn’t the first rejection, you can still appeal the decision within 21 days or wait 90 days to re-apply.
