YouTube to add watermarks to Shorts made on the platform
Image Credit: YouTube
Just one hat independent artists must wear is that of the content creator.
YouTube Shorts, Tik Tok, and Instagram Reels are epic tools for musicians to get themselves noticed. But now, like TikTok, YouTube Shorts will begin rolling out a new watermarking feature, reports TechCrunch.
As a result, you won’t be able to download any videos and cross-post them to other platforms without a YouTube watermark.
Though this may seem irritating to those who cross-post their shorts, ultimately it’s just a platform seeking to be credited as a source for the video.
When you make a video using their technology, they want others to know that your content can be found on YouTube.
Here’s what a YouTube community manager has said about the update on a support thread.
We’ve added a watermark to the Shorts you download so your viewers can see that the content you’re sharing across platforms can be found on YouTube Shorts. This is rolling out over the next few weeks on desktop, and we plan to expand to mobile over the coming months.
TikTok, YouTube Shorts’ biggest competitor, has operated in this way for quite a while. I’m sure you’ve scrolled through your friends’ Instagram stories & noticed TikTok’s notorious watermark on a video from the app.
Unfortunately, this can have negative consequences for creators. Platforms like Instagram, owned by Meta, utilize an algorithm that actively suppresses content from other platforms.
Therefore any content not created on its platform is much harder to share. The only real solution to avoid this is to edit videos on third-party apps. Check out the Synchedin blog to get an extensive list of video editing software and tutorials.
That way you can post the same content across different platforms and avoid any watermarks.