Manage channel memberships

We’re making a few changes to how we collect and use data on kids content on YouTube.com. As a result, some of the instructions in this article may have changed. Learn more
 
Learn more about what you can offer your members and how your viewers experience memberships.

Note that each channel participating in memberships (including its offerings) is responsible for complying with our terms and policies, including YouTube's Community Guidelines, as well as all applicable laws and regulations.

Protecting our extended workforce and the community: As we take steps to prioritize the well-being of our extended workforce, reviews of creators’ perks for their channel memberships are likely to take much longer than usual. This means:  
  • You may not be able to launch memberships until our review capacity returns to normal.
  • If you’ve already launched and want to change your perks, you may need to wait longer than usual for those changes to be approved.
For channels that need to change channel memberships perks, you can communicate the changes to your audience through a video and/or a Community post. You can also create or update an intro video. All channel membership perks you offer — whether or not they are included in the perks listed on your offer screen — are subject to membership policies and guidelines.

See your members

You won't receive a notification if you get a new member while you're offline. You can see all of your active members, how long they've been a member, and their subscriber count on the Memberships tab in YouTube Studio. Members can cancel their membership at any time.

If you are live streaming when a new viewer joins your channel membership, a bright green "New Member" message will be sent in live chat. This message will be pinned at the top of chat for 5 minutes.
Promote memberships
You can add /join to the end of your channel URL to link directly to your membership offer window. 
You can add this link:
  • To your video description.
  • On cards and end screens in your videos. 
Block members from commenting
You cannot remove anyone who has joined as a member, but you can block comments. To block comments from specific viewers, you’ll need to set up comment and live chat filters. 

Set and manage your intro video

Set an intro video for potential members
You can create a video that will be seen by anyone who clicks the Join button.

What to know before adding an intro video

  • Ads will not run on intro videos
  • Your intro video must follow YouTube’s Community Guidelines
  • Your intro video can’t have 3rd party copyright claims
  • Your intro video can’t have music claims against it
  • Your intro video can’t be set as made for kids
  • If you want to mention specific prices of your levels, be mindful that prices can vary depending on platform and country

How to add an intro video if you’re new to memberships

  1. Create your intro video and make sure you publish as Unlisted.
  2. Go to studio.youtube.com.
  3. In the left menu, select Monetization and then click Memberships.
  4. In step 3 under  “Add videos that encourage fans to join” click Start.
  5. Click Select intro video and then click Next.
  6. Choose your intro video from the options.

How to add an intro video if you’re already using memberships

  1. Create your intro video and make sure you publish as Unlisted. Go to studio.youtube.com.
  2. In the left menu, select Monetization and then click Memberships.
  3. Click Add intro video in the “Improvements you can make” box.
  4. Follow the onscreen instructions to upload your intro video.

Edit or delete an intro video

Edit your intro video

  1. Go to studio.youtube.com.
  2. In the left menu, select Monetization and then click Memberships.
  3. At the bottom right of the page, click Edit in the “Your intro video” box.
  4. Follow the onscreen instructions to edit your intro video.

Delete your intro video

  1. Go to studio.youtube.com.
  2. In the left menu, select Monetization and then click Memberships.
  3. At the bottom right of the page, click Edit in the “Your intro video” box.
  4. Click the delete icon  next to your memberships offer video.
  5. You can then replace your video, using our set an intro video instructions.

Channel membership revenue, pricing, and refunds

Revenue share

Creators receive 70% of membership revenue after local sales tax is deducted. All transaction costs (including credit card fees) are currently covered by YouTube.
Revenue share for creators in MCNs
If you are a part of an MCN, you should consult with your network. Some MCNs may take an additional revenue share, meaning your revenue from memberships may be lower than 70% if you’re part of an MCN.
You and your MCN (as applicable) are responsible for complying with all tax laws applicable to your membership revenue.

Revenue reporting

You can see revenue reports in the YouTube Analytics > Transaction Revenue Report. You'll receive membership revenue in the same way that you receive ad revenue with AdSense.

Cancellations, terminations, and refunds

Members can cancel their membership at any time.
If a member requests a refund, YouTube has sole discretion as to the validity of that claim, and may deduct from the channel the channel’s share of the revenue to be refunded. Learn about YouTube’s refund policy for paid memberships.

If membership is terminated on a channel (including, by voluntarily disabling it, or as a result of breaching our terms or policies, or being removed from the YouTube Partner Program), all active paid members on that channel at the time of such termination will receive a refund of their last month’s payment for membership on that channel, and the channel’s share of the revenue to be refunded will be deducted from the channel.

FAQs

There could be a number of reasons for this, including:
  • The feature is not launched on your channel.
  • The feature is not launched in all countries.
  • Your video is set as made for kids.
  • The "Join" button is not yet launched on some platforms. Viewers can, however, become members on desktop. You can still get access to perks on all available platforms if you sign up on desktop.
  • The "Join" button will only appear on eligible video watch pages of participating channels. For example, watch pages of videos claimed by certain music partners are not eligible.

If your viewers can’t see the join button, you can always remind them of these workarounds:

  • Remind viewers they can become a member by clicking on the Join button on your channel page. 
  • Viewers can add /join to the end of your channel URL to link directly to your membership offer window.
  • You can also add to your /join link to your video descriptions. 
How can I get more data about my members?
We have a Sponsorships API that gives you access to the following info about your members. If you use a 3rd-party company to offer perks, you can choose to share this information about your members with them so you can deliver memberships benefits. 
  • The member's channel URL 
  • The name of the member's channel
  • A link to the member's profile picture
  • When the member joined your channel 
Note: The Sponsorships API Service currently does not provide information about a member’s level.
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