YouTube makes it even easier to turn videos into Shorts

YouTube continues its all-in push for its TikTok competitor YouTube Shorts, with a new tool that makes it even easier to convert up to 60 seconds from an existing long-form YouTube video into Shorts.

Shorts created from long-form videos will now also automatically link back to the original long-form videos.

The connection between Shorts and long-form YouTube videos is part of why YouTube Shorts is now watched by over 1.5 billion logged-in users monthly. By comparison, TikTok announced 1 billion monthly users last September and has been projected to pass 1,5 million monthly average users sometime this year,

It’s also a boon to musicians and creators who can resurface and repurpose their YouTube content with minimal effort.

How the new feature works

If the user is the creator of the full video, they’ll be able to bring the clip into the Shorts editor directly from the YouTube app on iOS or Android to access all of the editing tools, including text, timeline editor, and filters.

If they select part of the video that is less than 60 seconds, they can shoot additional video with the Shorts camera and upload more from their gallery. To shoot or add a gallery video, you’ll need to hit the back arrow once in the editing screen after you’ve chosen your video segment.

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.