Bulk-monetize YouTube videos quickly

by

Problem: Your videos are demonetized.

Solution 1

In the YouTube Studio “Videos” page, select all your videos and choose:

  1. Upload policy: Monetize in all countries
  2. Ad settings | Update type of ads: Check everything

Before

After

See how at 0:07 in the video above.

Note: If your videos remain in the “Monetization: Off” state after trying Solution 1, try Solution 2!

There is a known YouTube bug that occasionally does not release claims when a channel unlinks. Solution 1 fails in this case because YouTube does not allow monetizing videos while there are lingering claims in another CMS. This may happen right after the channel joins a new MCN like Freedom! or moves to a new CMS within the same MCN, such as from an O&O (Managed) CMS to an Affiliate CMS. The good news is, there is Solution 2 that works 100% of the time.

Solution 2

The previous MCN needs to manually release all lingering claims in the CMS that YouTube did not automatically release (as it should have) when the channel unlinked, then create new claims by bulk-monetizing in the new CMS.

  1. Search for the channel ID minus the “UC” prefix in the CMS “Claims” page in Classic Studio
  2. Select “Active” in “Claim status” in the dropdown menu
  1. Sort by “Lifetime views” not “Newest” to prioritize the most-viewed videos
  2. Release all claims (max 500 at a time)
  3. Now Solution 1 will work

Notes

YouTube will not release more than 500 claims at a time. You need to wait for each batch of 500 to complete, then repeat. Painful, yes! But there is no other way.

Always use the new YouTube Studio, not the Classic Studio. For example, one lingering claim for a Minecraft video in our O&O did not appear in the “Claims” page of our Classic Studio but did appear in the new YouTube Studio “Claims” page! YouTube no longer supports Classic Studio so avoid using it unless you have to.

Solution 2 requires Classic Studio. If you get auto-redirected to the new YouTube Studio, stop clicking “Other features” and click “Content Manager Classic” that will add the query string &ar=1601161042061 (the number is a timestamp so it will be different for you) preventing the auto-redirect to the new YouTube Studio.

Always click “Content Manager Classic” not “Other features” to stay in the Classic Studio

Tip

Always check the YouTube Studio “Videos” page after joining a YouTube network to confirm you are fully monetized.

Leave a Comment