YouTube Shorts, the Google-owned video platform’s TikTok rival, was launched in September 2020 and is now available in over 100 countries. YouTube Shorts enables creators to make video clips up to 60 seconds long and share on the platform. At launch, it offered basic features such as adding texts to specific parts of the clip, automatic captions, filters, and colour correction. The company is now reportedly developing a dedicated voiceover feature for Shorts. As of now, the YouTube app on Android lets creators add audio from YouTube’s library to Shorts.
The leak on Shorts voiceover feature comes from XDA Developers, who reportedly spotted new strings of code during the teardown of the Android version of YouTube. The alleged code was found in the 17.04.32_beta version. These strings of code reportedly suggest that the YouTube app will get a dedicated button for the voiceover feature. As mentioned earlier, YouTube creators can only use the audio from YouTube’s library while making Shorts. Currently, they have to use third-party video editors to add custom audio clips to their Shorts. The voiceover feature is not yet live on the latest beta version of the YouTube app for Android. Furthermore, YouTube is yet to share any official information regarding the rollout of the voiceover feature. So, the reported details should be considered with a pinch of salt.
YouTube appears to be looking to make a space for itself in the short clips trend popularised by TikTok. Other social media platforms have come up with similar features like Meta-owned Instagram Reels and Snapchat‘s Spotlight feature. These platforms are attracting young creators to their platform, who are developing a huge fan following by making short comedy skits and viral dance videos. Last year, in May, YouTube announced a $100-million (roughly Rs. 735 crore) fund for creators who make popular clips on Shorts. The fund is said to pay creators throughout 2022. TikTok has also launched a similar fund with a funding of over $1 billion (roughly Rs. 7,350 crore) in the United States over three years.
