Premium viewers don’t see ads, so YouTube shares their membership fees with creators based on watch time. Payout per view can beat ads in some cases, but it isn’t guaranteed.
Yes, YouTube Premium views can pay as much or more than ads in certain cases, but there’s no fixed “Premium always pays higher” rule.
Premium revenue comes from a pool of membership fees that YouTube shares with creators based on how long Premium members watch your content, not on ad impressions.
That means the effective value of a Premium view depends on your audience mix and how long they watch. YouTube confirms that Premium members don’t see ads and that creators are paid by sharing the membership fee according to watch time, which can lift earnings for channels with longer sessions and older, Tier-1 audiences (, ).
How Premium pays creators
Premium replaces ad impressions with a watch-time based share of subscription revenue.
The more minutes a Premium member spends on your videos, the larger your slice of the pool for that member’s month.
This revenue shows up inside RPM alongside other sources like ads and memberships, so your RPM can rise as your Premium audience grows (Understand ad revenue analytics).
Two effects make Premium attractive for music and long-form creators:
Longer sessions – Premium users can download, background play, and binge with fewer interruptions, often increasing watch time (YouTube Premium features).
Audience quality – Premium adoption is higher in Tier-1 countries, which correlates with stronger RPM on average.
When Premium can beat ads, and when it won’t
Premium often outperforms ads for channels with 8–12 minute videos, live sets, or album-length uploads where viewers watch for a long time.
If your audience skews older or Tier-1, your effective revenue per view from Premium minutes can be competitive with, or higher than, ad-supported plays.
Conversely, ad-supported can win in short, low-retention content or in geographies where Premium penetration is low.
There is no global multiplier to apply, so read your RPM by geography and content type to see what’s true for your channel (RPM overview).
What to do next
Design for long sessions – Aim for 8–12 minute videos, live performance cuts, or sequenced playlists that sustain watch time.
Watch your mix – Track RPM by country and by video. If Premium minutes are rising, lean into formats that drive session length.
Promote smartly – Use targeted campaigns that seed high-retention viewers, then let organic recommendations scale the rest. If you want help tuning paid discovery toward long, Premium-friendly sessions, learn how we structure campaigns at dynamoi.com/login.
The takeaway is simple: Premium can pay more for the right content and audience, but the real lever is watch time.
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