YouTube rolls out TikTok-inspired video platform Shorts across the globe

YouTube Shorts, a short-form video platform designed to disrupt the dominance of TikTok and Instagram Reels, is set to go global within weeks.

The spin-off service, which was beta-tested in India last September and rolled out in the US this March, will be available for YouTubers to use in over 100 territories worldwide.

From today, users will be able to access a YouTube toolkit for creating and editing Shorts, allowing them to add automatic text and captions, gallery clips, audio and filters to their videos.

Other features include the ability to sample audio from YouTube’s video library, allowing for a near-infinite content pool for creators to slot into their own Shorts.

The platform will also host a huge music catalogue, with YouTube having recently signed publishing partnerships with Believe, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment to host their music on the platform.

Heralding the global launch of the Shorts beta product, YouTube’s global product manager Todd Sherman said the company wants to make it easy and fun to create the videos.

“As we continue to build Shorts alongside our creators and artists, we’ll be adding more features for users to try,” he added.

YouTube’s global head of music Lyor Cohen, meanwhile, highlighted the platform’s potential to become a music discovery portal, similar to that of TikTok.

“YouTube has helped artists from all generations showcase their catalogue of work for music fans around the world,” Cohen noted.

“YouTube Shorts is the next big frontier of a fast-growing platform that is centred on connecting artists and fans, around the love of music.

“I’m excited to watch the creativity of the YouTube community remix old favourites into new ones while discovering new music from artists they will undoubtedly end up loving.”

YouTube’s launch of Shorts comes only weeks after TikTok announced that its maximum video length would be extended to three minutes, a move that sees the platform compete against YouTube and Instagram’s own longer time limits.