Wojcicki said allowing creators to sell NFTs on the platform could help smaller influencers who are just starting to create their own accounts by pointing to musicians who have started using NFTs as a way to raise money. “At the end of the day, what YouTube is doing is being a platform for content distribution and revenue generation,” he said. “If NFT is an important part of this equation, then we think we should be there.” Wojcicki, who owns “some” NFTs, did not give too many details about YouTube’s Web3 plans. However, he said YouTube is in the “best position” to verify creator-owned virtual data through the Content ID tool, which allows creators to track and manage their content. “It would be a problem for you if another third-party website was selling your videos without knowing it belonged to you,” Wojcicki added. Ahgren dismissed the NFT, saying it was a “scourge” in the gaming world and would only help the already big influences in the long run. Gaming companies that have introduced these tools have received their share of reaction, both for environmental reasons and because some consider gaming encryption unnecessary. Wojcicki acknowledged that YouTube’s decision to work on NFT was “polarizing”, but that the goal of the platform behind NFT was to protect its creators. “We will be very careful. “I think you will be fine with what we do with the NFT,” he said. YouTube’s $ 100 million Shorts Fund has also polarized creators. Wojcicki told Ahgren that the money from the program is only a temporary form of revenue. “I do not think [Shorts funds are] permanent, “Wojcicki said. He added that YouTube is working to make the Shorts program “more scalable” in the future and that the platform is working on a new program for creators to make money. “But I can not say anything else,” he said. Ahgren pointed to a video posted by YouTuber Hank Green, who said that the creators’ funds are not viable because the pool of exclusive cash is static, although the number of creators who qualify for the fund is increasing. However, Wojcicki said that the Shorts Fund was only an initial form of monetization for shortcode creators, and the platform is trying to run more ads in shortcode content so that people can make as much money as they would in larger YouTube videos. “YouTube has a great revenue-generating program for long-time creators, and we want to extend that to Shorts,” Wojcicki said. YouTube’s decision to stop showing a lot of dislike may not have been popular, but Wojcicki said that although the move had a share of the reaction, it was in the creators’ best interest. “I understand that there were a lot of people – and yes, we heard loud and clear – because people were unhappy with that decision,” he told Ahgren. “But then we also saw the impact it had on a lot of young creators and that’s bad. We have to have and continue to support smaller creators and how they grow. This is very important for the long-term health of our ecosystem.” Correction: An earlier version of this story mistyped Ludwig Ahgren’s name. This story was updated on April 11, 2022.
