YouTube Shorts adds another update to take on rival TikTok, here’s how – Times of India

YouTube launched its short-form video-sharing platform in 2020. YouTube Shorts allows users to upload 60-second-long content on YouTube. The Google-owned platform keeps on adding features for both viewers and creators to compete with rival TikTok and improve the user experience of the platform. In September, YouTube announced that the platform will support content creators to use licensed music tracks for the first time. This expansion helped creators to use popular music tracks in their videos without creating copyright issues. Initially, YouTube Shorts offered licensed music only for 15-seconds.
YouTube Shorts creators can use one-minute licensed music
According to a report by Engadget, the platform will soon enable video creators to use 60-seconds of copyrighted music in their Shorts. The report mentions that creators will soon be able to access licensed music between 30 and 60 seconds “for most tracks”.

However, some tracks will still be restricted to the 15-second bracket. Respective licensing agreements will determine the tracks that will fall under this category. Moreover, the audio picker in the YouTube app will also6 show creators the time limit of each song that the platform supports.
One-minute licensed music on YouTube Shorts: Availability
By increasing the song limit, YouTube is trying to lure more users to use its Shorts service over rival platform TikTok. As per the report, the company has already started rolling out the new song-length options for some users. The new update is expected to reach more iOS and Android users “over the next few weeks”.

YouTube Shorts vs TikTok: How have the two platforms performed against each other
In September 2021, TikTok claimed to have more than 1 billion monthly users. Meanwhile, YouTube Shorts revealed to have over 1.5 billion logged-in users per month in June this year.
YouTube declared an ad-revenue-sharing program for qualified creators in September. Under this program, eligible creators are offered a 45% cut of ad revenue even if they don’t use music. TikTok also announced a similar revenue-sharing program earlier this year which was followed by widespread complaints.