YouTube is updating its website and app so that Shorts, live streams, and regular videos each have their own tab on a creator’s channel, rather than being lumped into one list (through 9to5Google). In a support messagethe company says the change is based on user feedback and that it will “make it easier for viewers to discover the types of content they’re most interested in when exploring a creator’s channel page.”
Before the update, if you went to any channel, you’d see a single tab labeled “videos,” which showed you a list of all the user’s uploads, including short movies, live streams, and full-length videos. While there is a filter that lets you change what format the list displays, it resets every time you leave the page, so when you come back, everything will be mixed together again.
The change that gives each type of content its own tab started rolling out Thursday and should make its way to more users in the coming weeks.
The only downside to this approach is that it can make things a little more difficult for people who want to finish, who want to see everything a channel is broadcasting, and like having everything on one screen. For me personally, though, it’s a boon – many of the creators I follow will take clips of their regular content and upload it as shorts, and it was always a bit of a hassle to switch to the Videos tab, having to do a few thumbnails to scroll, then remember that I have to go back up to enable the filter. It will also help users who only want to watch short movies, who don’t want to filter out regular videos.
That’s good news for YouTube and creators: the company recently announced that creators in the Partner Program will get a share of the revenue generated from ads played for short films starting next year. That could give the platform an edge over TikTok, which currently pays creators through a creators fund, and lets them earn some of their own money through tips.
