Maltese YouTubers will soon start to be compensated financially for content generated on YouTube. This follows the launch of a specific YouTube webpage for Malta: since that will not only make content from Malta more easily accessible for users but it means that we are a step closer for Maltese YouTubers to be compensated financially for content which they generate themselves on line.

In fact YouTube also announced that they will be expanding their YouTube Partnership Programme (YPP) to Malta later on this year, enabling creators to earn money from the videos they upload.

I was informed about this after YouTube launched a country specific version and local domain for Malta, available in English at www.youtube.com.mt.

For viewers and fans in Malta this means discovering local creators and content more easily worldwide with other 90+ local versions. Furthermore, Maltese creators can shortly monetise their channel’s traffic as uploaders of content in most other countries do.

Until last week, thousands of Maltese YouTubers were up in arms over Google’s refusal to add Malta to the programme.  Readers may recall that on March 16 I hosted an event called ‘Find your voice in the digital space’ specifically to addressthis lacuna. 

I brought together Maltese artists and businesses who are willing to further their reach on YouTube by empowering them to create and share their creative content professionally, organising a training session conducted by YouTube experts followed by several workshops targeting different levels of participants’ expertise.

Concurrently, as a member of the European Parliament, I addressed the thorny issue at source to see that Maltese artists do get conditions which are not inferior in any way to those of others in Europe.

In doing this I was inspired by Fabian Borg, the founder of Malta YouTubeCommunity who advocated for more rights being accorded to the Maltese by the YouTube platform through his popular petition. 

Like him, I saw this challenge as an opportunity to advocate that as a nation we show that we want to and have every right to be part of the system.

I found encouraging collaboration from YouTube which transmits hope to young people, creators, artists, performers and digital enthusiasts alike to register what many young people would consider an important element of what EU membership should be all about – having the same rights as are enjoyed by other YouTubers across Europe. 

Our country has a tremendous potential to thrive digitally

As an MEP I am now pleased to see such an encouraging step forward towards reaching this goal since there is a constantly growing cadre of creators whom I met and who are yearning to earn money from their videos and have access to a wide range of tools to make the most of their content on YouTube.

One of them is Stella Cini, who brilliantly managed to achieve a staggering fan base of 100,000 subscribers, a significant number of followers who earned her the esteemed Silver YouTube Play Button in recognition of her great work on the social platform. Her love for make-up, fashion and hairdos, led her to showcase her amazing talent on her own YouTube Channel. 

Luke Muscat, a medical student, who a few years ago revealed his ambition to make a living off YouTube, is another case in point. He raised over 51 million views on quirky song covers made by using note blocks in Minecraft, a popular sandbox video game in which users build anything from machines to cities using virtual blocks. 

Stella and Luke are representatives of a wider group of Maltese young artistes who form part of a relatively silent community but who equally aspire to get out there, share their talent and get compensated.

Our country has a tremendous potential to thrive digitally. 

Earlier this month, the Malta Communications Authority said we are the best performing country across the EU in the field of broadband connectivity. We have 80 per cent of Maltese households with a broadband connection, with 59 per cent of these enjoying broadband speeds of 30Mbps or more. 

The decision that we adopted in the past to provide Malta with the latest digital communications network to guarantee future growth is yielding the positive results that we had the courage to believe in even when all that is happening nowadays might have then been considered as a wild dream.

More than ever, we are living the digital revolution which requires our pluralistic society, independent media and creative industry to embrace this digitisation transformation without fear, unnecessary barriers or intimidation.

My duty is to sustain my efforts untila level playing field for our artistic creators materialises.

I will therefore continue to front the plea in Europe that would allow Fabian, Stella, Luke and so many others to seek fair recognition and compensation. That means opening wide open their doors to exciting opportunities which are at par to those of any other citizen in Europe.

Francis Zammit Dimech is a Nationalist Party MEP.

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