Shorts for Artists

Bringing artists and their music closer to more fans than ever before.

Why Shorts

Getting active on Shorts opens unique opportunities to promote your music and build your fanbase.

Audience Growth

Fans all over the world are discovering new music on Shorts. Get in the mix on Shorts and attract new fans.

Fan Engagement

Shorts has tools that help you connect more deeply with your fanbase. Interact with your fans while bringing new fans in on the action.

Music Promotion

You can use bite-sized content on Shorts to enhance your music release strategy and drive fans to your official release videos.

In January 2024, Shorts tripled the average artist's audience 3X of unique viewers. This means Shorts featuring an artist's music tripled the average artist's total reach.

60%

In January 2024, artists active on Shorts saw more than 60% of their new subscribers coming directly from their Shorts 60% posts. "Artists active on Shorts” are defined as artists posting weekly shorts on average.

When Should I Use Shorts?

Goal	Promoting a Release	Promoting a Tour	Audience Growth
Timing	Release cycle (Pre-release, release day, post-release)	Duration of the tour	Always On
How	Tease song and then make Shorts to inspire fan creation	Post performance highlights Show behind-the-scenes	Highlight catalog Engage with fan content

Goal

Promoting a Release

Timing

Release cycle (Pre-release, release day, post-release)

How

Tease song and then make Shorts to inspire fan creation

Goal

Promoting a Tour

Timing

Duration of the tour

How

Post performance highlights Show behind-the-scenes

Goal

Audience Growth

Timing

Always On

How

Highlight catalog Engage with fan content

How often should I post Shorts?

Try posting weekly and then re-adjust your posting schedule based on your Shorts’ performance.

Measure your Shorts Performance

We recommend looking at the following metrics within YouTube Analytics for Artists to start:

Creations

Subscribers from Shorts

Song Views from Shorts

Don’t get caught up in the numbers, but keep a pulse on any types of Shorts fans connect with most. YouTube recommends content based on an individual’s personal interests, video performance, and external factors like trends.

How To Make Shorts

Start

Tap the Create (+) button within the YouTube app.

Create

You can toggle among content formats. Select Shorts, record, add sound, and use editing tools.

Edit

Edit your Short by adjusting clips in the video timeline, adding a voiceover, and more.

Personalize

Select a thumbnail, add a caption and hashtags, and adjust settings.

The Shorts Creation Tool

YouTube App

A

Audio Picker Select a song
B

Song Recommendation Shows up after you’ve watched a Short with remixable music
C

Editing Tools
D

Library Use your own video clips
E

Record Button
F

Drafts

Shorts Tools

FLIP

Alternate between front and back cameras

TIMER

Add a countdown before recording (3s, 10s, 20s) and select how long the recording will last.

SPEED

Speed up or slow down a recording (0.3x, 0.5x, 1x, 2x or 3x)

EFFECTS

Choose a filter to modify an appearance, lens or background.

GREEN SCREEN

Select a photo or video from your camera roll to be the background of your Shorts

FILTERS

Customize the color filter of your camera

RETOUCH

Add a beauty filter to enhance your Short

LIGHTING

Add a filter to enhance your Short’s lighting

FLASH

Turn your camera flash on and off

PRO TIP

To add music to your Shorts, always use the official song from the audio picker in the Shorts creation tool.

Fans can access the song library page from your Shorts, linking to all other Shorts using your song and your Official Music Video. If your clip already has music, find the song in the audio picker and sync to your Short.

The Song Library Page

After tapping on the song chip from your Short, fans will be taken to the song’s audio pivot page.

A

YouTube Music: Listen to the song in YouTube Music
B

Official Music Video: Tap to watch your Official Music Video or other release content
C

Official Artist Channel
D

Preview: Listen to the song clip
E

Save Song: Save to a “Sounds on Shorts” playlist
F

Top Shorts Creations
G

Creation Button: Fans can make their own Short with the song

YouTube Create is currently available on Android. Stay tuned for more updates.

YouTube Create

Are you experienced with editing short form videos?
Do you need more advanced tools to bring your vision to life?

The YouTube Create App lets you edit Shorts and videos right from your phone and directly upload content to YouTube, all free of charge.

YOUTUBE CREATE TOOLS:

Audio clean up
Beat detection
Cut out
Effects
Filters
Font library
Sticker library
Transitions
Voiceover

How to Engage with Fans on Shorts

How to Remix Videos and Shorts

Remix allows users to sample audio and visual content in their own Shorts. Remix your own Official Music Video or remix fan content to continue building a deeper relationships and inspire fans to create.

Find a Short or video on your mobile device.

On Shorts

On a Video

Select a Remix tool from the following and create a new Short.
Click the links below to learn how to use each feature.

COLLAB

React or respond to a fan side-by-side with their Short

CUT

Record a response to come right after your fan’s Short

GREEN SCREEN

Record a Short with a fan video as your background

USE THIS AUDIO

Use the audio or song from another Short or video

How to Reply to a Comment with a Short

Go to the watch page of your Short or video.

Go to your comments, find a comment that you want to reply to, and tap the reply icon.

Tap the camera icon and record a Short to respond to the fan comment.

PRO TIP

You can also remix audio from a Short via the Shorts audio chip or the official sound page.

Shorts Tips

Focus on Quality, Not Quantity

Channel size or number of uploads do not influence how your Shorts perform. Make the best Shorts for your music, your wellbeing and your fans.

Stay Patient While You Test and Learn

It may take a bit of time for your content to reach the right fans, so don’t get frustrated if you don’t see immediate success. Keep testing new ideas to find your niche.

Upload Shorts Consistently

Consistency is key on Shorts, so keep your content front and center for fans. There is no minimum posting cadence required in order for your videos to have a chance to perform well.

Make Many Different Shorts for a Song

The more a fan hears your song in Shorts, the more likely they are to listen to your song in other formats.

Display Text or Lyrics on Screen

Use text as another way to draw fans in and continue watching, even the fans that might be watching with low or no volume.

PRO TIPS

TITLES & DESCRIPTIONS
Titles and descriptions are one of many signals that the algorithm uses to recommend videos, so keep them relevant to your Short. Include 2 or 3 relevant hashtags, but you don’t need to include #shorts.

THUMBNAILS
Don’t stress too much about the perfect thumbnail as
Shorts show up directly in the Shorts feed. Consider
highlighting a clear clip as the thumbnail, like an important
moment or end result of your Short.

Shorts Inspo

Let’s take a look at some artists from all around the world who are killin’ it on Shorts. See what’s been working well when artists promote their music on Shorts and use that inspiration to think of your own content ideas.