That large companies copy each other is not something new. Instagram has been copying the features of other platforms for years, such as Snapchat Stories or TikTok short videos (Reels). Another great app that doesn’t hesitate to copy features from rival platforms is YouTube. They recently stole the idea of short videos from TikTok, with the Shorts, and now they want to monetize their channels Twitch-style.
If you follow this world even from afar, surely you already know that the biggest stars of YouTube in Spanish have migrated to Twitch for two reasons: you earn more and the effort is less . Faced with this flight of talent, YouTube could not sit idly by and have launched a plan to bring them back. One of the first steps is to enable the option to gift paid subscriptions (the main source of income for many streamers).
How to gift paid subscriptions on YouTube
Regular YouTube subscriptions are free on all YouTube channels, no exceptions. However, a few years ago, YouTube launched paid subscriptions called “memberships” that allow you to access exclusive content and other benefits determined by the channels. Typically, these memberships are used to financially support the content creator.
Of course, not all channels offer memberships, since to activate this option YouTube has some guidelines that must be followed. Additionally, eligible channels are not required to offer memberships to their subscribers . That’s why most YouTube channels right now don’t have memberships. In fact, of the largest YouTube channels in Spain, very few offer paid subscriptions.
However, now things can change. YouTube itself on its support page has confirmed that the option to give away paid subscriptions is already being tested . In addition, they have explained that it will work as follows:
“With Membership Gifting, your channel members will be able to purchase a set number of channel memberships (5, 10, or 20) in a single purchase, which YouTube will “give away” to other viewers on your stream. Viewers who receive a gift membership, they will get 1 month of access to your channel membership perks like loyalty badges, custom emoji, and more. Viewers who receive gift memberships will not pay any fees, and as the creator, you get your membership fee. usual revenue from each transaction.
In a nutshell, the YouTube Memberships giveaway is exactly the same as the Subscriptions giveaway on Twitch . You buy a certain number of memberships for a channel and give them away to everyone who is watching that channel live. YouTube will automatically assign them to lucky viewers without charging them anything else, and the content creator will receive the amount that corresponds to them for those subscriptions. Please note the following:
- The free memberships are all for 1 month .
- Only viewers who do not have a membership will be able to receive a gift.
- The viewers who interact and watch your live streams the most will be more likely to get a gifted membership.
- As always, YouTube keeps 30% of the revenue from gifted memberships and the creator receives the remaining 70%.
Can’t give away memberships on a YouTube channel?
At this time, only a few select YouTube channels can enable gifted memberships. Additionally, memberships can only be gifted from the desktop version of the platform at this time. Over time, this option will surely reach all channels and can be used in the YouTube mobile app.
How to activate the option to give memberships on your YouTube channel
This option should activate itself on all YouTube channels when it is 100% ready . Right now, it’s in beta, so YouTube has only activated it for a limited set of channels. If you want to be part of the beta, you can fill out this form to enable gifted memberships on your channel .
