.

By Juliet Umeh

Online video sharing platform, YouTube has said that one year after it introduced Shorts in Nigeria, over 1.5 billion users log on to it every month.

It also said that in April 2022, Shorts containing content sampled from long-form videos generated over 100 billion views.

Short is a platform created by YouTube to help artistes and creators grow audiences and be inspired by new video formats

YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, Neal Mohan, explained: “At the heart of YouTube’s journey are the voices of our creators and artists. When we introduced Shorts, we knew that we were bringing an important new format to the YouTube repertoire. For artists, the path to success has never been more demanding, so we’re designing products like Shorts to make YouTube the place for them to connect with their fans and grow long-term, sustainable music careers.

“We’ve been hard at work innovating and refining the product features our community knows and loves to incorporate this new video format into the broader YouTube experience.”

He also introduced some of recently launched highlights which include: Video remixing: Mohan said: “In Video remixing, Creators can utilize content from the world’s largest video library, creators on YouTube can put their own spin on the content they love from YouTube using our latest video remixing features, cut and green screen to Shorts on iOS among others.

“Multiformat analytics: Evolving in-depth analytics, we recently rolled out a new design for YouTube Analytics which allows creators and artists to see insights and performance data for specific content across our different video formats: VOD (video on demand), Live and Shorts. This allows them to individualize and optimize their content strategies more effectively to make the most of the platform for both reach and revenue opportunities.

“As YouTube introduces new products, we have seen the birth of a new trend unique to the platform: the rise of the multiformat creator and artist. Moving seamlessly between different video formats on YouTube from Shorts, Longform, Live and Audio, these multiformat creators and artists create an infinite flow of content combinations to maximize their creativity, reach, community connection and revenue.

“This interplay between video formats mirrors the reality of today’s viewer, who expects content to suit their active lives, varied interests and wide ranging attention spans.”

Also commenting, YouTube’s Global Head of Music, Mr. Lyor Cohen, said: “Everybody knows that our mission at YouTube is to become the leading revenue generator for the music industry. Money is great, but it’s not enough. Building artiste fandom is equally important. We want YouTube to be the place for artists to connect and create meaningful relationships with their fans and grow long-term, sustainable music careers.”