YouTube Shorts launched in Nigeria could boost content creation

Nigeria’s growing digital content creation community and other interested users can now access the beta version of YouTube Shorts, which has been launched in Nigeria to offer the company’s new short-form video experience to create short, catchy videos from mobile phones. First announced in September 2020, YouTube has since expanded Shorts to 26 countries and will now be available across more than 100 countries around the world where YouTube is available.

While short-form videos were already viewable in the platform, users in Nigeria will be able to access for the first time Shorts’ creation tools which include a multi-segment camera to string multiple video clips together, the ability to record with music, control speed settings, and more, the company said in a statement.

Users will also have the ability to sample audio not only from other Shorts but also from videos all across YouTube unlocking a new playground of creativity. This means that users can give their own creative spin on the content they love to watch on YouTube and help find it a new audience — whether it’s reacting to their favorite jokes, trying their hand at a creator’s latest recipe, or re-enacting comedic skits. Creators will be in control and will be able to opt out if they don’t want their long form video remixed.

Read also: Letshego Group launches digital platform to deepen financial inclusion across Africa

YouTube says it has helped an entire generation of creators turn their creativity into businesses and become the next generation media companies. Over the last three years, the company says more than $30 billion has been paid to creators, artists, and media companies.

With Shorts being a new way to watch and create on YouTube, the company has been looking at various ways to monetize Shorts and reward creators for their content, including the recently announced YouTube Shorts Fund, a $100M fund distributed over the course of 2021-2022.

“We want to make it easy and fun to create Shorts” said Todd Sherman, Global Product Manager for YouTube Shorts. “As we continue to build Shorts alongside our creators and artists, we’ll be adding more features for users to try”, he added.

The Shorts beta will be available to everybody in Nigeria from today, July 14th.