Insights & Trends - page 7

Every distributor here gets your music onto Spotify, Apple Music, and TikTok. The difference is the money, and what happens to it when you stop paying. Some charge a yearly fee, some take a cut of every stream, and some keep 15–25% of your royalties once you cancel.

If your channel is eligible, YouTube has probably already dubbed some of your videos. Automatic dubbing is on by default for eligible creators, so AI voice tracks can show up on a channel without the creator doing anything. YouTube built the feature, so it won't penalize you for using it. The real choice is between YouTube's free AI dub and a professionally dubbed track: which one keeps viewers watching, and what a weak AI track does to the rest of your channel.

More channels turn on AI dubbing every month, and YouTube keeps making it easier. Before you add AI tracks to your own videos, look at what they did to average view duration on three channels AIR Media-Tech works with, measured side by side against pro-dubbed tracks.

Most creators who turn on YouTube memberships earn very little from them. They set up the feature in a rush, mention it once, and move on. In the three channels we break down below, memberships grew to 30%, 60%, and 80% of total revenue. The difference came from perks built around what that audience wanted, a natural mention in every video, and tiers priced around what superfans will pay. Those three tactics and 12 more are below.