Update for YouTube Streamers: Scheduled Streams Now Linked in ALL Shorts?

Navigating the New Era of YouTube Shorts and Live Streaming

YouTube is rapidly evolving its short-form video ecosystem, introducing changes that blur the lines between quick clips and longer content. From the official announcement of 3-minute Shorts to new ways of promoting live streams, creators have several new tools—and a few technical hurdles—to navigate. Whether you are a dedicated streamer or a short-form creator, these updates change how you should approach your content pipeline and monetization strategy.

The Arrival of 3-Minute Shorts: Understanding “Compacts”

The most significant recent update is the official introduction of Shorts that can last up to three minutes. While YouTube has provided the technical capability, the community is still grappling with what to call this new format. Terms like “Long Shorts” have been dismissed as awkward, and while “Pants” exists in English for certain video types, it isn’t a fit here. Suggestions such as “Maxi Shorts,” “Minis,” or simply keeping them under the “Shorts” umbrella are on the table, though “Compacts” has emerged as a strong candidate for describing this middle-ground format.

Regardless of the name, the extension to three minutes provides creators with more breathing room to develop a narrative, provide deeper tutorials, or share more detailed highlights without needing to transition the viewer to a full-length long-form video.

Monetization and YouTube Partner Requirements

For many creators, the primary concern with any new format is how it affects their path to monetization. If you are working toward the YouTube Partner requirements, it is important to understand how these longer Shorts—or “Compacts”—are tracked.

The simple answer is that they count as Shorts views. However, the transition phase may introduce some visual confusion within YouTube Studio. You might notice discrepancies between different sections of your dashboard:

• The Content Page: In this view, Compacts might temporarily appear as standard videos.
• The Monetization Page: Here, the actual watch time and view metrics are tracked correctly in the backend.

Creators should not be alarmed if they see a “back-and-forth” in how these views are displayed. Once the backend transition is complete, the watch time will align, and the views will be fully integrated into your Shorts view count.

Regarding revenue, there are currently no plans to change the monetization model for longer Shorts. For now, both standard Shorts and Compacts will continue to be monetized equally under the existing Shorts framework.

Bridging the Gap Between Shorts and Live Streaming

While longer Shorts offer more creative freedom, a separate update is fundamentally changing how streamers can use short-form content to drive traffic to their live broadcasts. YouTube is currently testing a new notification prompt for scheduled streams that appears directly on a creator’s Shorts.

The “Live Ring” vs. Scheduled Notifications

To understand this feature, it is helpful to distinguish between the two ways YouTube signals a creator’s status:

1. The Live Ring: This is the red ring that appears around a profile picture when a creator is currently live. It serves as an immediate signal for viewers to jump into the stream.
2. Scheduled Stream Prompts: For creators who have a stream planned but are not yet live, YouTube is testing a prompt on all of their Shorts. This notification—which may say something like “Next stream in XY Z hours. Notify me now”—acts as a call-to-action for viewers to set a reminder.

This means that every Short you upload becomes a potential landing page and advertisement for your upcoming live event, provided you have a schedule in place.

Why You Should Stop Using “Go Live” Exclusively

Many streamers rely on the “Go Live” function because it is faster and requires less preparation. However, relying solely on spontaneous streaming means you miss out on these automated promotional tools.

By utilizing the “Schedule a stream” feature in YouTube Studio, you allow the platform to automatically place notification prompts across your Shorts library. This transforms your existing content into a passive marketing engine that works for you even when you are offline. If you want to maximize your viewership, scheduling is no longer optional—it is a strategic necessity.

Strategic Content Creation for Streamers

The synergy between Shorts and live streaming is becoming the primary growth engine for creators on the platform. This is particularly advantageous for YouTube streamers compared to those who stream on other platforms like Twitch. While many creators feel forced to record content, edit it, and then upload it across TikTok or Instagram to find new audiences, YouTube streamers can keep their entire funnel within a single ecosystem.

Because the link between Shorts and Live streams is a native feature, there is no manual linking required; the platform handles the connection automatically when you are live or have a stream scheduled.

Optimizing Your Workflow with OBS

To take full advantage of this ecosystem, streamers need to move beyond traditional horizontal broadcasting. The goal is to create a pipeline where live moments are seamlessly converted into Shorts. This involves several technical steps within streaming software like OBS:

• Vertical Scenes: Setting up a dedicated vertical scene allows you to broadcast or record in the 9:16 aspect ratio required for Shorts, ensuring your content looks professional and native to the mobile experience.
• The Buffer System: Implementing a 5-minute buffer for your vertical scene is a critical safeguard. This ensures that when a “viral moment” happens, you have the preceding seconds of context captured.
• Retroactive Saving: By configuring your software to save material retroactively with one click, you can instantly capture high-quality clips from your stream without having to record the entire multi-hour broadcast in high resolution.

By integrating these technical workflows, you can ensure that every live stream produces a steady supply of Shorts, which in turn feed more viewers back into your next scheduled stream.

Original transcript

Transcript

YouTube has now officially announced 3-minute Shorts as well. I’ve linked the summary of the news above. As promised, we also asked a few follow-up questions. First of all, about the name: “Long Shorts” is a silly name, we can all agree on that. “Pants” is already taken in English for videos, which I didn’t know either. In the comments, people suggested “Maxi Shorts” and “Compacts”. Other creators mentioned “Minis” and just “Shorts”. None of these names are perfect. I’d stick with “Compacts” for now, but feel free to keep suggesting names in the comments below. Maybe we can find something we all agree on.

A completely valid question that was asked last week: Do Compacts count towards watch time or Shorts views when it comes to YouTube Partner requirements? Compacts count as Shorts views - that’s the simple answer. The more complicated answer is: During the transition phase, there might be some discrepancies in how the YouTube Studio Monetization page and the Content page (where you see your videos and Shorts) display this information. It’s possible that Compacts will show up as videos, and their actual watch time will be visible on the Monetization page. But rest assured, it’s being tracked correctly in the backend. Once the backend is fully transitioned, that watch time will disappear, and the Shorts views will be added to your Shorts view count. Just so you’re not confused by any back-and-forth - it’s just a transition, and we all have to go through it.

We also specifically asked about how Compacts will be monetized. While a different monetization model isn’t ruled out in the future, it’s not currently planned. So, Shorts and Compacts will continue to be monetized equally.

Now, we’ve already made a video about this, which I’ve linked above as well. Next, attentive viewers sent us something else: a screenshot that highlights the importance of Shorts for YouTube streamers once again. YouTube is testing a notification prompt for scheduled streams as a counterpart to the Live ring. Remember: The Live ring is the red ring around the profile picture when a creator is live. When the creator isn’t live but has a stream planned, this notification prompt should appear - something like: “Next stream in XY Z hours. Notify me now.” This will happen on all of the creator’s Shorts as long as they have an upcoming stream scheduled and aren’t currently live (otherwise, they’d get the Live ring).

A request for this feature has already been submitted to YouTube. However, we probably won’t get more information until next week or later. So, make sure to subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss out, and we’ll keep you updated. Regardless, keep this in mind when planning your next live streams. I still know many people who simply use the “Go Live” function because it’s - let’s say - easier to use than “Schedule a stream”. But it makes sense to utilize the scheduled stream feature instead of just hitting “Go Live”, among other reasons, because you’ll benefit from features like this one.

In turn, that also means: Please make Shorts! Your Shorts are the foundation for growing your live streams. It’s simply how it is - and this applies to creators who stream on other platforms as well. They create short-form content and share it on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and more. For YouTube streamers, it’s even easier because they don’t have to switch platforms. You don’t need to open another app to go from a Short to a live stream; you can simply link them directly. It’s a native feature - no linking required, it will be displayed automatically when you’re live or planning to go live. So, please keep that in mind.

We’ll also create a short tutorial in the near future on how to use your streaming software (in this case, OBS) to A set up a vertical scene, B how to then set up a 5-minute buffer for the vertical scene, and C how to save good material retroactively with one click so you have 5 minutes of content to edit. I think this is super important, and we’ll definitely show you how it’s done.

How does it work? No problem!

You can already look forward to it in the comments. And finally: A huge thank you for all the sharing and commenting! Last week was an incredible celebration, we’re already almost at 1100 subscribers – that even surprises me how quickly it’s going. But of course, you still have until October 12th to leave an orange heart and a nice comment. I’ll reach out to the comments I like best so they can also get a great CAPI, and yes, another YouTube bag. You know the drill, right?

In that sense: Thank you so much for tuning in! See you next week for more YouTube updates. Until then, take care and keep pushing!

Confused about YouTube's new 3-minute Shorts and their impact on streaming? Check out our YouTube Tips & Tricks in English for more insights and tips on how to utilize these changes effectively, or contact our expert below.