The COVID-19 pandemic hits the physical locations designed to supply professional studios to creators.
YouTube Space, the physical studio location owned by YouTube worldwide and designed to encourage creativity on the platform, is closing down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As a result, YouTube is shifting its focus to online workshops and lessons, with the occasional pop-up in-person events.
What Is YouTube Space?
YouTube Space was an initiative designed to supply professional and accessible studio production to YouTube creators.
This included studio space, post-production facilities, and workshops to assist create better content. There have also been areas to hold out, chat, and network. Incredibly, all of this was free.
The first Space opened in London in 2021 and expanded to other cities, including l. a., Tokyo, Berlin, and Paris.
The concept grew in 2016, with the launch of YouTube Pop-up Spaces. These were smaller locations that would bring the Spaces’ events to over 20 countries that wouldn’t usually have access to the facilities, including Mexico City and Mumbai.
Why Is YouTube Space Closing?
As announced on the YouTube blog, the physical YouTube Spaces are closing permanently, shifting to a virtual model.
These locations had to close when the COVID-19 pandemic struck temporarily. Understandably not keen to pay rent on buildings that remain unoccupied, YouTube is cutting its losses.
The pandemic forced the corporate to specialize in virtual events, including workshops that focussed on Indian creators, female creators, and the way to form great content reception. Virtual events like these reached over 70,000 people in 145 countries.
In the blog post, Robert Kyncl, Chief Business Officer of YouTube, says:
Today, our YouTube partner community continues to expand at an exponential pace, and that we got better to meet the requirements of our creators and artists, regardless of where they could be. Moving forward, we’re doubling down on the more scalable and agile strategy to succeed in more creators and artists with the tools and workshops we provide.
While the main target will be on the virtual events, YouTube will continue with its in-person pop-up programming when feasible.
Some of the events YouTube has planned for 2021 are:
- Artist and label workshops to preview the newest product developments.
- Investment within the NextUp program, which supports creators in markets like Russia and Japan.
- Live workshops that help creators explore new ways to form money on YouTube.
Keep On Creating
Don’t let the closure of YouTube Space put you off creating. It’s straightforward to make your own accessible and affordable studio so that you’ll produce great-looking content.
