YouTube will soon let creators tell longer stories within the Shorts format

03 Oct 2024, 22:51 by Karandeep Singh Oberoi · Android Police

Key Takeaways

YouTube extends Shorts video length to three minutes, enabling creators to tell longer stories.
Videos up to three minutes will automatically be categorized as Shorts and can be monetized with the Shorts revenue-sharing model.
Users can upload longer Shorts via YouTube Studio or desktop/mobile apps. The Shorts camera in the mobile app doesn't currently support videos longer than a minute.

YouTube is undoubtedly the biggest video sharing platform out there — and regardless of its stale ad experience that routinely promotes unhealthy content, it is indisputable that it has evolved significantly under Google's wing.

The long-form video giant's venture into the realm of short-form video content has proven successful, and Google is now building upon the success.

YouTube Premium subscribers get new AI tools and picture-in-picture mode for Shorts

The Gemini revolution continues on

YouTube's short-form video mode gained a new picture-in-picture mode recently, and as part of a significant update, YouTube is now extending the maximum length of Shorts videos to three minutes, up from sixty seconds. The change was first highlighted by the tech giant in a new 'Creator Updates' support post.

The change will kick in starting Tuesday, October 15, opening up new possibilities for creators who want to tell longer stories within the short-form video format. It's worth noting, however, that Shorts longer than the original one-minute duration with an active Content ID claim will be blocked by YouTube. For reference, a Content ID Claim is auto-generated when your uploaded video matches (a segment) of another video on YouTube. These are different from copyright claims as they don't impact your account's standing.

The change applies to both square and vertical aspect ratio videos

It's worth noting that currently, a video uploaded to YouTube longer than a minute is automatically classified as a long-form video. Post October 15, any new video, be it in square or vertical aspect ratio, which is up to three minutes in length, will automatically be categorized as a Short.

Videos up to three minutes long uploaded before October 15 will follow the long-form revenue-sharing model. Videos up to three minutes long uploaded after October 15 can be monetized with the Shorts revenue-sharing model.

Also worth noting is that while the duration bump is a welcome addition, users currently can't create longer-length Shorts directly through the YouTube mobile app's Shorts camera. Users can, however, use YouTube Studio or their desktop/mobile apps to upload Shorts that are up to three minutes in duration.

We believe that bumping the Shorts supported duration is a great step for creators and viewers alike, though we'd ultimately like to see Shorts becoming a standalone app.

YouTube should make Shorts into its own app, and not just to capitalize on the TikTok ban

TikTok is on track to be banned in the US in early 2025, and we know just what should replace it