YouTube will pay creators during Red service's free trial, says Google

YouTube responded to concerns about the way its new subscription service Red works on Wednesday, saying that creators will be paid when new subscribers watch their videos during their free trial.

"Starting today, with the launch of YouTube Red, our creator community will make as much or more money on YouTube than they would have without it," YouTube wrote on its official blog.

Following Red's announcement, some creators and creator networks said that new subscribers who watch videos ad-free during their 30-day free trial will not contribute income for the creators.

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YouTube denied this, saying that creators would get "a portion of the revenue" it makes from subscribers to Google's streaming music service. Goople Play Music subscribers instantly get access to YouTube Red, and vice versa.

"Even with 30-day free trials, our creator community will make as much or more as they would have without YouTube Red," the company added.

Does watch time equal more income?

YouTube creators who have monetized their videos currently make ad revenue via Google AdSense, with advertisements that play at the start of a videoand banner ads on the bottom of the screen.

Red subscribers won't see those ads, so to compensate, creators will receive a portion of the subscription revenue. YouTube hasn't clarified exactly how that revenue will break down, but they said creators will make more money from subscribers than non-members "on a per-user basis."

YouTube also addressed concerns that video watch time would determine subscriber revenue, which some creators took to mean that longer videos would generate more income.

"The most important factor is that your videos are engaging and people spend time watching them and sharing them with more people," reads the blog post, suggesting that "overall watch time" is more important than uninterrupted watch time.

It did not clarify exactly how these factors calculate into creators' income, however.

Callback to Taylor Swift vs. Apple Music

Concerns about subscribers getting a free ride over Red's free trials echo themusic industry's outcry about Apple Music earlier in the year. Appleoriginally said it would not compensate artists for their music played during its three-month free trial.

After pop superstar Taylor Swift criticized the decision in a widely shared open letter, Apple did an about-face and said it would compensate artists fully during users' free trials.