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Today’s News

MASS EFFECT

YouTube doesn’t want to monetize “mass-produced or repetitive” content

The update: YouTube is cracking down on channels that specialize in “mass-produced or repetitive” content. According to a bulletin posted in early July, creators will need to publish “original” and “authentic” videos if they plan to reap revenue from the YouTube Partner Program. If content is reuploaded from other sources, it must be changed “significantly” to comply with the platform’s terms. Videos must also possess clear value for viewers in order to be eligible for monetization.

In a tweet, YouTube clarified that repetitive, mass-produced videos have always been ineligible for the Partner Program. The main change here concerns the platform’s enforcement of its policies, which will now be enhanced by technological updates.

The motivation: Much of the coverage surrounding YouTube’s policy update has centered on the reaction genre, which has long been criticized as a glorified form of content piracy—but we don’t think this change is aimed at those channels. Instead, Shorts spam seems to be the platform’s primary target.

YouTube loves to tout the high viewership of its TikTok-style format. At the recently-concluded Cannes Lions festival, for instance, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan revealed that Shorts now averages 200 billion views per day. That’s a jaw-dropping quantity—but can it make up for a lack of quality?

Each week, our YouTube viewership rankings are filled with channels that peddle mass-produced and repetitive videos. Take New Man Magic: the channel finished 30th in June’s Global Top 100 after adding nearly 1.7 million monthly subscribers and snagging millions of views from reuploaded videos shilling for a product called the “VitaWear Smart Band.”

That kind of Shorts spam is likely the focus of YouTube’s latest monetization crackdown. The platform has protected rights holders for nearly two decades with its Content ID system. Now, it’s stepping up its enforcement to make piracy less profitable.

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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• MrBeast added 11 million new subscribers during June, making his primary hub the most-subscribed YouTube channel of the month. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• TikTok is reportedly developing a “replacement” version of its platform for U.S. users ahead of a government-mandated divestiture. (Gizmodo)
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• The introduction of direct messaging on Threads has triggered backlash from users concerned about potential harassment. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• Amazon has announced that it will shut down its free, ad-supported streaming app—aka Freevee—in August, making Prime Video “the new exclusive home for Freevee TV shows, movies and Live TV.” (TechCrunch)

ON THE JOB MARKET

TikTok Shop staff just faced a third round of layoffs in 3 months

The layoffs: TikTok Shop is the fastest-growing part of TikTok’s business. The ecommerce hub has finally allowed ByteDance to replicate some of the social shopping success it’s had with TikTok’s Chinese counterpart, Douyin—and while some sellers have anecdotally reported falling sales, Shop is still churning out billions of dollars in revenue. Orca (an ecommerce startup focusing on helping digital content creators sell through Shop) has alone sold over $100 million in the last 12 months.

But despite that impressive performance, TikTok’s U.S.-based Shop staff is facing yet another round of layoffs—the third in just three months:

The context: TikTok wouldn’t say how many staffers were laid off or at what level, but Bloomberg reports that the cuts were due to Shop falling short of internal sales targets. The outlet also claims that TikTok has been simultaneously replacing U.S.-hired staff near Seattle with managers in China.

TikTok rarely discusses things in hard numbers, so we’ll probably never know how Shop’s sales numbers compare to internal expectations. But what we do know is that TikTok is still on the ban chopping block. While the Trump administration recently extended its stay-of-ban again and says a Stateside buyer has been approved, the Chinese government has yet to give the okay on an arrangement.

That uncertainty could be a contributing factor here. From the outside, however, it looks like ByteDance is primarily focused on cutting costs.

CREATOR COMMOTION

Amazon is doubling creator commissions for Prime Day

The incentive: With uncertainty gripping TikTok Shop staff and sellers, Amazon is seizing the opportunity to woo creators. In honor of its annual deep-discount shopathon Prime Day (which now spans four days), the ecommerce giant is offering influencers up to double commission through its affiliate program. Adweek reports that the increases will be in place from July 1 to 20, giving creators a chance to capitalize on both the lead-up to and aftermath of the July 8-11 Prime Day event:

Commission increases are spread across 13 popular categories, with some offering double commission (such as jewelry, which has jumped from 4% to 8% of each sale) and others providing smaller bumps (like beauty, which has gone from 10% to 12.5%). Altogether, those inflated commissions represent a major incentive for content creators to continue recommending products using official Amazon affiliate links.

The context: Amazon hasn’t historically devoted as much effort to courting creators as TikTok Shop—but as the internet’s undisputed king of consumption, it still churns out millions of creator-driven sales. Now that the giant has started making more moves in the creator space, this commission top-up could be a sign of bigger things to come.

WATCH THIS

This Shorts channel turns travel into a family affair

The travel trend: Travel videos have long been popular on YouTube, with creators like Drew Binsky entertaining millions of subscribers. But despite the overall success of the genre, travel channels have made only occasional appearances in our Tubefilter viewership rankings over the last several years.

In 2025, however, those trends are starting to shift. In June, multiple channels cracked the U.S. Top 100 thanks to content related to international jaunts and cross-country adventures.

The Shorts hub: One channel riding that wave is Adventures of EP Girls. During the month of June, the Shorts-centric family travel channel doubled its total subscriber count by adding 759,000 new subscribers. Check out one the EP family’s recent outings here to see what all the short-form fuss is about.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.