YouTube is giving brands something they’ve been asking for. The question is whether getting it makes them want something it can’t yet provide.
The platform’s Creator Partnerships API, announced at the NewFronts earlier this sping, opens up creator performance data to a select group of third-party ad tech companies for the first time – who watches what, for how long and what that means for an advertiser trying to decide where to put money. It is not, however, an open door. Creators can opt out of being included entirely, and brands must actively opt in. What YouTube is building, in other words, is controlled infrastructure, not a data free-for all.
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