One year of YouTube Shorts — what we’ve learned so far

One year ago, we introduced an early beta of YouTube Shorts in India to further our mission to give everyone a voice and help creators grow their audiences with short-form video. As we continue to build this experience with people across the globe, we wanted to spotlight some communities that are growing on Shorts, and share a few insights on what we've learned so far.

Since we first launched our Shorts creation tools in September 2020, the average number of daily first time creators more than doubled.

Creators getting started — and ones to watch

We launched YouTube Shorts to empower the next generation of mobile-first creators. We’re still at the beginning of our journey, but since we first launched our Shorts creation tools in September 2020, the average number of daily first time creators more than doubled (from September 2020 to September 2021).

And to support those creators, we’re also excited that we’ve recently expanded our Shorts Fund into 30+ more countries globally as we continue to start rewarding creators for delighting the community with Shorts.

Here are just a few creators to keep an eye on in our early days:

DankScole

DankScole isn’t afraid to find humor in life, with family, relationships and more. After she started uploading content to Shorts in February, her channel grew by more than one million subscribers and 300 million views in just one month. Her fun, comical Shorts have only continued to charm fans as she keeps growing her channel.

Katie Feeney

Nineteen-year-old college student Katie Feeney continues to shine with Shorts that people of all ages can relate to. From dorm life and studying to lifestyle tips, Katie’s Shorts are giving people something to smile about. It’s no surprise she’s generated more than 1.2 billion views since March!

The Korean Vegan

A lawyer turned creator, The Korean Vegan impresses us daily with her Shorts that show off delicious Korean vegan eats. In 60 seconds or less, she tackles health and wellness topics, while cooking some must-try recipes.

Dushyant Kukreja

Dushyant Kukreja has gained popularity for his fun, comedic Shorts that provide his audience with some light reprieve, consistently landing him on YouTube’s trending tabs. Known for his conceptual life stories on Shorts, Dushyant today has more than 4M subscribers.

Léo Léo

Brazilian creator Léo Léo started posting Shorts in 2021, and since January has gained more than 1 billion views, plus has landed on the trending tab in Brazil, too. His goal is to bring smiles and fun to the world with his comedy videos about daily life.

A place for any and every community starting to take off

YouTube has always been a place where any and every community can come together to connect, and YouTube Shorts is no different.

SeanDoesMagic - Omegle RATES My Magic Tricks!! video

SeanDoesMagic

Magic

Magic is having a moment on YouTube Shorts. Whether performers are showing off their latest tricks, or demonstrating the sleight of hand behind the illusion, people are connecting with these magicians’ charismatic personalities. And Shorts is a perfect place to show off this content as creators can experiment with editing, narrative and grabbing people’s attention.

Dental Digest - Sponge Bob Toothbrush! video

Dental Digest

Dental lifestyle

Who would’ve thought that something you do every day without thinking about it, would ignite a passionate community on YouTube? That’s what we’re seeing right now with dental content with more and more creators filming anything from toothbrush demonstrations and informational videos explaining the ins and outs of dentistry, to putting silly dental products to the test to see how well they work. And we’re seeing creators make this topic fun and relatable for everyone, sprinkling humor and a personalized touch in each video.

Jake Fellman - Minecraft RTX 93% DANCING SHEEP LOOP

Jake Fellman

Minecraft animators

Gaming content has always been popular on YouTube, and it's always fun to see specific communities gain traction, too. That's what we're seeing now with animated Minecraft videos - a topic that's historically been popular on YouTube, but creators are now experimenting with Shorts, too. Using more detailed renderings, fun narratives, and popular trends, creators are expanding upon the familiar tools and experiences of the game and producing inventive Shorts for their audience.

Music grows and BTS inspires

Music is coming to life on Shorts all over the world. Artists are creating one-of-a-kind music moments to connect with their fans and vice versa, fans are sharing glimpses into their own lives soundtracked by their favorite songs - all on Shorts.

Most recently, we partnered with global pop icons BTS for this summer's “Permission to Dance Challenge.” BTS encouraged people around the world to recreate the "International Sign" dance moves for "Joy," "Dance," and "Peace" from their “Permission to Dance” music video, all with their own style. You can read more about the impact of the challenge here! 

We have millions of songs in our music library and are so happy to see that artists and fans everywhere are using them to create new trends and stay connected with one another. We are breaking new ground with the music industry and will be partnering with even more artists to create special music moments only on Shorts - stay tuned for more to come this year!

Early learnings as we build YouTube Shorts from the ground up.

As we continue to build YouTube Shorts, we’re focused on three key areas: building a creation experience that empowers anyone to create and find an audience; refining our viewer experience to make sure we’re helping people find Shorts that they’ll love and discover new creators; and determining more ways we can reward creators for the Shorts they make that delight the YouTube community. Here’s an update on what we’ve learned so far in each area: