Earlier today, YouTube announced that eligible content creators with channel memberships enabled on their handles can now get memberships at the beginning of every month which can be gifted to their viewers for free. This activity is aimed at helping internet stars drive up awareness of their channel memberships' perks and provide their top fans with one month of access to features like custom emojis, members-only content, and more.
Any influencer with channel memberships enabled on their accounts and offering a membership tier below $5 can gift up to ten memberships to viewers per month. However, a crucial point to remember is that free-of-charge gift memberships are currently unavailable for Brand Accounts, and broadcasters can check to see if they're using one by following these steps.
creators, it’s gifting season ???? now gift memberships free of charge
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) December 12, 2023
every month eligible creators can gift 10 memberships to give viewers access to channel membership perks like custom emoji & much more ????
start gifting in live chat w/ steps here: https://t.co/hgmGjIMQdE pic.twitter.com/TESfqn20HP
How to gift free memberships to viewers
Streamers can follow these steps when on air or during a Premiere:
- Click the "$" icon within the live chat
- Select "Membership gifting"
- Click "Gift 5 Now"
It has to be noted that streamers can distribute gift memberships in bundles of five twice a month. They can do so by being on the same stream or broadcasts throughout the month. Undistributed gift memberships will not carry over to the next month, meaning they will reset on the 1st of every month.
Other YouTube & YouTube updates (Nov-Dec 2023)
When it comes to the purple platform, it was quite the action-packed year, with a few notable announcements coming as late as December:
- Having loosened its policies around sexual content a few days back, the Amazon-owned site rolled back the artistic nudity changes. Hence, moving forward, depictions of real or fictional nudity won’t be allowed, regardless of the medium, although it doesn't apply to Mature-rated games.
- Twitch will be shutting down operations in Korea on February 27, 2024. Due to network fees that are sometimes ten times higher than in most other countries, the company had to close its business in this East Asian country.
- As part of its PC Game Pass x Twitch Support a Streamer Campaign, players can get 'one month of PC Game Pass (valid for new Game Pass members only) plus 170 Minecraft coins, a Halo Infinite "Oh Snap" weapon charm, and the Omen Pack in Sea of Thieves when they purchase two new subs and/or gift subs.
- The Winter Drops Fest, a brand new, ten-day celebration that started on December 7 and will run till December 17, is featuring tons of drops from some amazing games.
When it comes to the Google-owned streaming service, here are the news items that created a buzz in the community:
- Having introduced AI tools in September that make it easier to create on YouTube, the tech giant is also now testing two experiments that integrate generative AI into the YouTube viewing experience, which basically organizes large comment sections of long-form videos into easily digestible themes.
There are lots of changes happening in the online content landscape, and 2023 will be remembered for a lot of changes and discussions on what the future of the industry, especially live streaming, should look like. For now, fans and netizens can be part of the process and do their bit to enhance the whole experience.