Big changes afoot at YouTube with the upload limit being increased from 10 to 15 minutes. This has been made possible due to YouTube’s confidence in its Content ID system controlling the flow of copyrighted content.
YouTube Upload Limits
When YouTube first launched there were no upload limits, with videos of all sizes and lengths allowed on to the site. Then again, this was at the time when YouTube was a lawless Wild West-type place, before Google acquired the site and set about cleaning it up.
A 10-minute upload limit was introduced quickly when YouTube realized it meant full movies and TV shows were being posted. Some people, the clever ones, got around the limit by splitting videos into multiple 10-minute clips.
YouTube then put a Content ID system in place which recognizes the fingerprints of copyrighted material and flags it immediately.
From 10 To 15… & Beyond
YouTube is now so confident in the ability of its Content ID system to flag copyrighted material that it’s extending its upload limit from 10 to 15 minutes.
To celebrate the change, YouTube is asking everyone to contribute a 15 minutes of fame video by Aug. 4. A selection of videos tagged with yt15minutes will then be highlighted on the YouTube homepage.
The question is whether this limit will be extended further in the months or years to come. Could the limit be removed altogether in time? That would appear to be YouTube’s eventual aim, even if it’s unlikely.
Conclusions
An extra 50 percent is appreciated, but the limit being removed would be seen as a real achievement. Until that happens, expect more video clips of between 10 and 15 minutes. Which will include attempts at splitting copyrighted content, obviously.
