This feature, which will be available to select creators, allows YouTubers to upload multiple different audio tracks to a single video.
YouTube is officially rolling out its new multi-language audio tracks feature to its global creator user base. This feature, which was previously in its testing phase and only available to select creators, allows YouTubers to upload multiple different audio tracks to a single video. This provides content creators with the ability to offer dubbed video content, with the uploaded audio tracks providing their viewers with the option to watch in their primary language.
The feature doesn’t only benefit creators who may be able to connect with a broader audience, it also aids YouTube itself as it expands the reach of the videos on its platform.
However, in early tests of the feature YouTube ran with a small group of creators, the feature had been used across more than 3,500 videos uploaded in over 40 languages, YouTube says. Over 15% of the dubbed videos’ watch time came from viewers who were watching the video in a different language from the original recording, as of last month. YouTube also says that in January alone, viewers watched over 2 million hours of dubbed videos daily on its platform.
Initially, the feature will be supported only on YouTube’s long-form content, but the company tells us it’s already testing the feature on Shorts, as well.
With this launch, thousands more creators beyond the original test group will now gain access to the new functionality, we understand. The option to adjust a video’s audio track, meanwhile, will be rolled out globally to all of YouTube, where it will be available across desktop, mobile, tablets and TVs.
Eligible creators who are gaining access to the feature will be notified with an invite offering them the chance to participate. Once they have access, they’ll be able to use the new option in Creator Studio.
YouTube declined to share how it was determining which creators were eligible or how many would be invited in this initial expansion, saying only the number was in the “thousands.” It also didn’t say when the option would be broadly available to more creators, but says it’s working toward that goal.