My Shorts get huge view counts — why is the payout so small?
Shorts use a completely different payout model — RPM per 1,000 views can be a tiny fraction of long-form, and it shrinks further if you use licensed music.
What to do now
- Shorts use a completely different payout model — RPM per 1,000 views can be a tiny fraction of long-form, and it shrinks further if you use licensed music.
Who owns the resolution
YouTube's own support/policy team decides this -- AMS explains the policy but has no account access and cannot make this decision for you.
Evidence to prepare
- Your account email or user ID
- Screenshots or a confirmation number for the specific order/booking/transaction
- Any messages you already exchanged with support about this
Turn this answer into a question about your case
Give another AI the facts it needs—not just “what should I do?”
I need practical help with a YouTube issue. The policy question: My Shorts get huge view counts — why is the payout so small? Useful context I found: Shorts use a completely different payout model — RPM per 1,000 views can be a tiny fraction of long-form, and it shrinks further if you use licensed music. My specific situation: [Describe what happened, including dates and messages shown] The outcome I want: [Refund, verification, appeal, account recovery, explanation, etc.] Important constraints: [Country, deadline, booking/account status, documents already submitted, budget, or other limits] Please: 1. Identify any missing facts you need before reaching a conclusion. 2. Separate platform policy, local law, and your own inference. 3. Give me the safest next steps in priority order. 4. Use current official sources where possible and flag anything that may have changed. 5. Draft a concise message I can paste to customer support. 6. Do not invent account access, guarantees, refund rights, or legal conclusions.
Why this policy exists
Shorts ad revenue isn't attributed per-video; it first pools into a shared "Creator Pool." Each month's total Shorts ad revenue, minus music licensing costs, goes into that pool, gets divided among creators by their share of total Shorts views, and 45% of that share is finally paid out. Using one licensed music track cuts your eligible share of that view's revenue to 50%; two or more tracks cuts it to 33% — the more music you use, the smaller your final cut. The commonly cited industry range is roughly ₩1,000-5,000 per 1,000 long-form views versus ₩15-60 per 1,000 Shorts views.
Need to act on your account?
AMS explains the rule but cannot access your account, issue a refund or change a platform decision.