More than 1,000 YouTube creators surpassed 1 million subscribers last year — which is more than double the amount of YouTubers that received much-coveted Gold Play Buttons in 2015, the company’s CEO, Susan Wojcicki, wrote in a letter to creators today. (For comparison’s sake, there were only five channels with at least 1 million subscribers in 2010, though that figure grew to a total of 2,000 channels last April).
Looking back at various initiatives and features launched by YouTube last year — from improved comments to updated Content ID policies to new livestreaming technologies — Wojcicki says that the site has striven to listen to creator feedback. “You haven’t been shy about telling us what we can improve or do better and for that I’m really grateful,” she wrote. “Your feedback has led us to make some important changes and investigate and tackle several thorny issues, all of which have made YouTube a better place.”
Wojcicki also provided some insight into the kinds of revenues that creators are seeing on YouTube today. She noted that partner revenue has grown by an average of 50% for the last three years, and that the company has paid out over $2 billion in revenue through Content ID over the last five years.
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And in touting the growth of subscription service YouTube Red, Wojcicki noted that the company has released 24 original series thus far in a slew of genres, with plans to expand into international markets beyond Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and South Korea. Similarly, YouTube is looking to grow its fleet of production Spaces across the globe, and, following YouTube Pop Up Spaces in Moscow, Sydney, Jakarta, Madrid, Dubai, Warsaw, Taipei, and Rome this year, Wojcicki says that additional locales are slated for 2017.
“We’re planning a lot of new things for this year, but one thing that will continue is the spirit of collaboration we’ve developed with all of you,” she concluded. “No matter what new steps we take, I’m proud of the fact that we’re taking them together.”
Check out her post in full right here.
