

Given its rapidly increasing number of creators since the early 2010s, YouTube introduced a reward system to acknowledge its creators’ contributions-the YouTube Play Button, a series of awards you receive after crossing a defined milestone of subscribers and a thorough assessment of your channel. If you’re looking to earn your first Play Button but don’t know how, we’ve covered all the bases in this extensive guide.īut, before we jump into the details, let’s first understand what a YouTube Play Button is.

Here’s how one channel used the art of suspense to reach 100,000 subscribers in three months.From gamers and vloggers to media companies and YT celebrities, YouTube Play Buttons have become the hallmarks of success for all kinds of creators on YouTube.įirst introduced in 2012, YouTube Play Buttons are now one of the most coveted awards for a YT creator. Of course, you must gain thousands of subscribers to get any kind of play button from YouTube. Only three channels managed to get a custom play button (officially) before the option disappeared: YouTube doesn’t make custom play buttons anymore, so if you have 10 million subscribers, you’ll need to reach 100 million to get another award – not 50. Even better, creators had no idea what the award would look like. It typically matched the channel's theme and came in numerous shapes and sizes. In the past, creators who got 50 million subscribers received a custom play button designed and made by YouTube. Enter your redemption code on the Creator Awards website.Īccording to YouTube, play buttons arrive within a month of ordering them.Find the email from YouTube saying you’re eligible to claim an award.Check your email as soon as you pass a subscriber milestone.If you’re unsure of anything at all, check your eligibility here. Compliance with YouTube’s Terms of Service.Good standing in the YouTube Partner Program.An active YouTube channel with original content.On top of gaining 100,000 subscribers, you must meet other requirements to get your first play button:

You can order extra play buttons (pending channel review), but you'll have to pay for them. YouTube gives one award per subscriber milestone free of charge.

The award is free, but you’ll pay a duty or tax on the shipment if you live in one of these countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine, or Uzbekistan. You can order your first play button (silver) when you cross 100,000 YouTube subscribers. “It’s a solid piece of machined aluminum – which is super heavy – and then polished on the outside with crystal embedded in the middle of it,” Brownlee says.
