YouTube Crosses $100 Billion in Creator Payouts as It Celebrates 20 Years
YouTube revealed on Tuesday that it has distributed over $100 billion to creators, artists, and media partners since 2021 — a record milestone that highlights the platform’s role as one of the most profitable digital ecosystems in the world.
The surge in earnings has been largely driven by the rise of connected TV viewership. According to the company, the number of channels earning more than $100,000 annually from TV screens grew by 45% year-over-year.
Johanna Voolich, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, praised the creator community for “reshaping culture and entertainment in ways once unimaginable.” The announcement was made at YouTube’s annual Made on YouTube event in New York City, where the platform also rolled out a new lineup of tools designed to fuel the next wave of content innovation.
Among the new updates:
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AI-powered editing for YouTube Shorts → Creators can transform raw footage into polished videos with AI, adding transitions, music, and voiceovers.
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Dialogue-to-song conversion → Eligible videos can now have their dialogue turned into music for Shorts.
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Integration with Veo 3, Google’s latest AI video generator → Creators will soon be able to leverage advanced AI video creation directly within Shorts.
The announcements arrive as YouTube marks its 20th anniversary, boasting over 20 billion videos hosted, including music, podcasts, Shorts, and more.
Last year, CEO Neal Mohan confirmed that YouTube had paid creators $70 billion between 2021 and 2024, meaning the platform has added another $30 billion in just a year — underscoring how rapidly its creator economy is expanding.
With these new AI-driven tools and a rapidly growing audience, YouTube is positioning itself not just as a video-sharing site, but as a global media powerhouse fueling the future of digital creativity.
