Supporting and Exporting British Culture
YouTube is powering the creator economy by helping hundreds of thousands of creators grow their audience, develop professional careers and run sustainable businesses by exporting the UK’s diverse and rich culture around the world.
Download YouTube’s 2022 Impact Report. All data listed on this page has been taken from research conducted by Oxford Economics, unless otherwise stated.
- YouTube's impact in the UK
- How creators earn money from YouTube
- Powering the creator economy and exporting our talent
- Helping to grow British businesses
- A global stage for UK culture
- The place to discover meaningful content and learn new skills
- Meet the clinician creators making health information accessible to all
- Explore stories across the UK
YouTube’s impact in the UK
£2BN+
YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed over £2 BN to the UK's GDP in 2022.
45K+
YouTube’s creative ecosystem supported more than 45,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in the UK.
Ways creators can earn money on YouTube
YouTube aims to be the most rewarding place for creators by giving them multiple ways to earn money from their channel and videos.
From YouTube
Ads
YouTube Premium
Fan funding
Channel Memberships
Super Chat
Super Stickers
Super Thanks
Other ways to earn
Shopping
Ticket sales
Funds to support specific groups of creators
Without YouTube we wouldn't have been able to reach the global audience we have, build the brilliant team and business around us or have the impact on communities that matter to us.
- @Sidemen, London
Powering the creator economy and exporting our talent
YouTube’s unique revenue sharing model generates a significant economic impact through the earnings that it pays directly to UK creators, artists, music and media companies. These earnings can enable creators to make creating content a full-time career and give them the opportunity to grow successful businesses.
@Sidemen, a group of London-based creators have built a media empire and started several other businesses off the back of their success on YouTube. They employ 35 staff to create and manage their content and channels.
I feel so fortunate that YouTube has allowed me to grow a community and fulfill my dream of building a global beauty business off the back of it.
- Jamie Genevieve, Glasgow
Helping to grow British businesses
British businesses are using YouTube as a tool to drive growth and increase revenue. SMBs can access large audiences both locally and internationally, which can turn into revenue that opens up new opportunities like getting premises, setting up content creation studios and hiring staff.
YouTube is a powerful marketing tool that helps SMBs find new customers, develop new products and launch brands. Creator and beauty business owner, @JamieGenevieve, leverages her engaged community of subscribers to develop new products for her own beauty brand VIEVE.
YouTube has allowed me to grow a platform off the back of my passion for football and expand into new ventures and sports with my audience alongside me.
- Ben Foster, Leamington Spa
A global stage for UK culture
British storytelling, music and content is world class. YouTube enables creators to share their uniquely British stories with the world. Creator and former Wrexham FC goalkeeper, Ben Foster, has grown a global audience by giving viewers an inside look into his life as a professional footballer in Wales.
UK music artists are using YouTube to launch and promote their music to a large international audience. And because artists have many ways to earn revenue from their channel including fan funding and the ability to sell tickets and merchandise, they’re enabled to build careers doing what they love.
I believe that science and space can be for everyone, no matter your background. I’m proud that my channel helps to demystify this often complex and misunderstood subject.
- Dr Becky, Oxford
The place to discover meaningful content and learn new skills
YouTube is a flexible and accessible education resource for people of all ages, providing a supplement to traditional learning and helping people discover new skills and interests. Every day, people are upskilling on the platform by learning everything from professional skills to practical skills, coding to cooking, new languages, sustainability strategies and more.
Many creators who are authoritative figures in their field share their knowledge on YouTube. Royal Astronomical Society Research Fellow at the University of Oxford and YouTube creator, Dr Becky, teaches hundreds of thousands of people about astrophysics, helping explain complex science to mainstream audiences.
I talk about medicine every day as a doctor, but YouTube has allowed me to harness my creativity and deliver educational content on skin and women's health in a distinctive and engaging way.
- Dr Simi Adedeji, London
Meet the clinician creators making health information accessible to all
YouTube makes it easier for people to find reliable Health information from licensed healthcare professionals. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a dramatic increase in searches for health information from health professional creators (clinician creators). There was also a rise in authoritative health information from public health institutions intent on sharing quality health information to a wide audience.
Today, YouTube is home to many clinician creators like Dr Simi Adedeji, an NHS GP who creates and shares content that focuses on women's health and skin health. In her videos, Dr Simi helps to address the stigma attached to many women’s health topics.
Explore stories across the UK
Meet the creators, music artists and businesses who call YouTube home.