YouTube joins Spotify, TikTok connecting to Shopify for creator commerce

YouTube has launched a partnership with Shopify that gives eligible creators access to live shopping tools.

The deal enables creators to display their Shopify-listed products across their YouTube channels using the e-commerce company’s real-time inventory syncing “so that viewers are never disappointed to find a product out of stock.” Creators can also enable checkout directly from YouTube rather than having to leave the platform.

Spotify and TikTok announced similar Shopify deals in recent months, and several other companies in the consumer music space tell Hypebot that they are working on similar tie-ins.

More than 1 million businesses including many musicians, use Shopify for e-commerce.

YouTube also offers music channels a similar connection to Merchbar, FameHouse, Bonfire, and a select group of music merch companies.

To link a Shopify store to YouTube, creators should use the Shopping tab in YouTube Studio or go here to learn more.

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.