2025 changed YouTube more than anyone expected. Creators who have been around for years felt it first. Strategies that worked last year started failing. YouTube just changed. Quietly, but deeply.
If you’re trying to keep up, here’s what’s really going on with YouTube revenue changes, reach, audience retention, and the algorithm that changed how the platform works.
YouTube Monetization Changes: What Happened to Revenue
Yes, YouTube made more money. But the way that money gets to creators now looks different.
Shorts pay much less than long videos. 25,000 views on a Short might give you $0.30. That same number on a long video used to earn $100. That’s not a small difference. Shorts are good for views, bad for money.
And our data confirms it. Across hundreds of AIR partner channels, Shorts RPMs are still sitting in the range:
- USA: $0.328
- UK: $0.166
- India: $0.008
- Brazil: $0.045
- Philippines: $0.023
Long-form RPMs still average roughly $1-$25+, and the broader benchmark is ~ $2-$3K per 1M views (varies by niche/geo). Shorts won’t pay your bills on ads alone, but they’re unmatched for reach and growth.
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But live streams changed all
Channels running 24/7 streams with 8 to 10 loops are making more than half their income from them. It’s low effort once it’s set up. High return. YouTube favors it.
Case in point: Lesnoy, a DIY woodworking channel (393K subs, 77M+ views). We launched one always-on stream with them. In just two months, it pulled 1.15M views, 260K watch hours, and 2,000+ new subscribers.
YouTube Reach in 2025
In the past, spamming Shorts helped. In 2025, it doesn’t. YouTube wants formats to connect.
They started mixing long videos into the Shorts feed. The algorithm doesn’t care if it’s long or short, it checks if the next video keeps the viewer watching.
Shorts = The New Reach Engine in 2025
Shorts are a reach engine in 2025. 70B daily views and 2B monthly logged-in users. Use them to feed sessions, not to replace long-form revenue.
Creators who build flow between Shorts, long videos, and live streams grow faster now. One leads to the other. YouTube looks at total session time. Late-afternoon uploads (3-6 PM) deliver the highest average view increase.
TV Is Rising
63% of views are mobile, while Connected TV is growing (+14% YoY). Make end screens and playlists TV-friendly, and thumbnails mobile-clear.
And we’re pushing partners to optimize for TV now, because it works.
Our music channel partner at ~340K subs flipped to 4K-only publishing. Nothing else changed. In the next quarter, recovered revenue +52%, recommendations up, and sessions longer. Big screens reward big quality, and YouTube’s TV algorithm notices.
All YouTube Talks About Is Localization
Reach depends on the right strategy for localization.
Brave Wilderness is a perfect example. We created nine translated channels for them, and they were sitting on 27.2M extra views and 135K new subs in six months.
Quick disclaimer: AI-only dubs rarely hold up. We’ve seen average view duration tank by up to 5× when creators rely on synthetic voices. Hybrid dubbing (real actors + light AI support) flips that script. In some cases, dubbed versions even outperform the originals.
And here’s the smart move before you go all-in on dubbing: test languages with translated metadata and subtitles first. It can be done automatically, and you’ll quickly see which markets actually respond, so you know exactly where to invest in dubs.
In some cases, metadata alone can give a 148% jump in views. That’s exactly what happened with KrasOlka. This DIY channel didn’t touch its videos, voices, or formats. All we did was translate titles and descriptions into nine languages. Within six months, views climbed, subscribers grew by 97%, and ad revenue rose 46%.
Audience Retention Tips That Work in 2025
In 2022, retention was about your hook and your pacing. That still matters. But now, YouTube measures how long people stay inside your channel’s world.
If someone watches your Short, then clicks your live stream, then comes back to a long-form video later, that’s retention. That’s what gets you pushed.
Use features that help people stay:
- 24/7 live loops keep people around.
- Community posts and Stories create connection. And YouTube just gave creators more room to play, community posts now support 10 images instead of 5, doubling the space to grab attention.
- Pinned comments, end screens, and playlists guide traffic.
We helped a channel restructure their end screens, just direct links to next-step content. Session time grew 30% in six weeks. That’s the number that matters now.
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YouTube Algorithm Updates in 2025: The Real Change
YouTube is measuring viewer flow. If your video leads into another that keeps the user watching, you win. Even if your own video wasn’t perfect.
This means playlists, titles, thumbnails, and in-video links matter more than before. Not to hook people, but to guide them to keep watching.
This is a "watch loop."
Set up your next video as a direct continuation. Use pinned comments. Use calls to action that aren’t cheesy, just clear: "Watch this next." It works.
How to Keep Up
Start here:
- Build a system between formats. Link Shorts to lives, lives to long-form.
- Translate your metadata. Target high-paying regions.
- Track retention beyond one video. Think sessions, not views.
- Simplify and automate. Use tools to save time.
If you’re not sure where to start, ask for a channel audit. We’ll check your funnel, retention, and monetization setup.
Change = Growth
YouTube is still growing. But you need to grow with it.
If your revenue dropped, maybe it’s not your content. If your reach is down, maybe you need smarter connections between formats. If your retention is low, maybe you’re not building a watch loop.
AIR Media-Tech helps creators figure this out and act fast.
Contact us for a full channel audit or to explore which AIR Media-Tech tools will boost your revenue, reach, and retention in 2025.
