YouTube Shorts updates algorithm to prioritise original content
YouTube is changing how Shorts are recommended, giving original content a stronger chance of reaching viewers while reducing the reach of low-effort reuploads. Here’s what independent artists and labels need to know.
If you’re an artist using YouTube Shorts to get your music in front of new listeners, there’s a reason to pay attention to YouTube’s latest update.
YouTube is changing its Shorts recommendation system to prioritise original content and reduce the reach of videos that simply re-upload someone else’s work without adding anything meaningful.
For musicians, this could be a useful shift. If your Shorts already revolve around your own music, ideas and creative process, the platform is putting more emphasis on that kind of original content.
What is changing on YouTube Shorts?
YouTube says its recommendation systems use billions of signals to connect viewers with videos they are likely to find valuable. These include things like watch history, interests and previous engagement.
Now, YouTube’s latest update is putting a stronger focus on originality. In practice, this means that channels that primarily re-upload other creators’ videos without significant changes are likely to see their reach reduced in the Shorts feed.
That doesn’t mean you can never use someone else’s footage. Creators can still use clips from other videos, but there’s now a greater emphasis on adding something genuinely valuable. This could be through adding original commentary, unique editing, storytelling, or a different point of view.
In its announcement, YouTube warns against making minor technical or template-based changes simply to make reused content look different. Instead, creators should bring their own voice and creative perspective to the video.
Why is YouTube making this change?
Shorts has made it incredibly easy to turn existing videos into quick, attention-grabbing clips.
That can be useful when you’re repurposing your own content, but it also means feeds can become crowded with accounts reposting material from elsewhere.
YouTube says the recommendation update is designed to improve the Shorts experience for viewers while giving creators publishing original content a better chance to grow. It also builds on YouTube’s existing policies around reused and spam content, with the aim of giving creator-made videos more opportunity to be discovered.
There’s a wider industry trend here, too. Instagram has made similar moves to reduce recommendations for content reposted without meaningful changes, while aiming to give original creators more visibility.
In other words, platforms are increasingly rewarding the creators behind the content, rather than accounts built around collecting and repackaging everyone else’s work.
The bigger picture for independent artists
For independent artists and labels, YouTube’s shift towards original content could make your own creative identity an increasingly important part of your Shorts strategy.
A snippet of an upcoming track, a studio session, a live performance, a look at how a beat came together or a story behind a song can all turn a release into original content.
And if you’d like to get your music onto YouTube Shorts to use in your own content, RouteNote can help get it there. With RouteNote, you can distribute your music across YouTube’s ecosystem, from YouTube Music to Content ID and Shorts.
So, while the exact line between original and unoriginal content remains somewhat unclear, it’s clear that YouTube wants Shorts to put more emphasis on creators making original content. For artists, that makes your music, your perspective and your story valuable assets to build around as you promote your releases.