Youtube is home to millions of creators who, for better or worse, put out content in an effort to express themselves and their ideas. While YouTube may not be considered a traditional source of media by some, there are still several awards that creators can receive.
So, what are all the competitions where YouTubers earn awards? The most common competitions where YouTubers can win awards include the Youtube Creator Award, the Shorty Award, the Webby Award, and the Streamy Award. However, YouTubers can and have in the past won the following awards:
Specifically Youtube and Internet Awards
Other Popular Awards
Possible Awards for YouTubers:
- Daytime Emmy Awards
- Tony Awards
- Film Festivals (theres hundreds of them)
Read on to find out how YouTubers can win popular awards and make their names as renown content creators.
The Most Common Award for YouTubers: YouTube Creator Award
If you or someone you know is a YouTuber, then you may have already won an award!
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In an effort to recognize the tremendous work put into growing and maintaining a YouTube channel, YouTube decided to award its creators with a special “Play Button” after they reach a certain number of subscribers.
This award is known as the YouTube Creator Award, and unlike most competitions, this one doesn’t just recognize one or a handful of individuals but rather is awarded when creators reach certain milestones, including:
- Silver Creator Award: 100,000 Subscribers
- Gold Creator Award: 1,000,000 Subscribers
- Diamond Creator Award: 10,000,000 Subscribers
- Red Diamond Creator Award: 100,000,000 Subscribers
Once your channel reaches one of the milestones above, YouTube reviews your account to make sure you meet all the guidelines and criteria.
So as long as your channel is not politically motivated, horror driven, in violation of copyright regulations, and has not been artificially grown through fake subscribers, then you are in the clear.
You will then be given an award redemption code, and once redeemed, your award should arrive in 6-10 weeks.
Fun Fact: The Red Diamond Play Button has only two winners: PiewDiePie and T-Series. The Silver Play Button Award, on the other hand, has over 24,000 recipients, and that number is rising. So keep putting out content!
Other Video and Web Competitions and Awards
Unlike the Creator Awards, other web-based awards are very competitive and host large yearly ceremonies to recognize outstanding performance by YouTube’s finest.
The Shorty Awards
One of the most well-known competitions is hosted by the Shorty Awards, which has been giving awards to the “Best of Social Media” for the past 11 years.
The Shorty Awards recognize influencers, brands, and different organizations on various platforms, including YouTube and have well-known past winners like Taylor Swift, J.K Rowling, and Shane Dawson.
There are various categories that creators can get nominated for, then a list of finalists and honorees are chosen, and finally, a winner is designated by a group of judges from the Real-Time Academy of Short Form Arts & Sciences.
Winners are chosen based on creativity, originality, effectiveness, and impact.
Categories for YouTube video content include best Comedy Video, Augmented Reality, Video Series, and more!
The Webby Award
The Webby Award is a more general award type given to individuals or organizations to create, design, maintain, or market digital work. Each category has its own judging criteria, and video is mostly predicated on the quality of writing/craft, immersion, execution, experience, and reach.
The panel of judges is from The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and the process includes multiple tiers before a winner is selected.
You can enter the competition for a cool $365 at its early-entry deadline.
Streamy Awards
The Streamy Award is a more video content focused award, unlike the Webby or Shorty Awards, which also include categories in marketing and web design.
Produced by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter, Streamies are given out to the absolute best in online video creation! It’s no wonder the TIME’s calls them, “The award show for the next generation.”
YouTubers can win in a number of categories, including Creator of the Year, Show of the Year, Breakout Career, and more. There are even categories for International creators, Indie creators, and Animators. Because the competition is centered specifically around video content, there are more specific categories in Gaming, Fashion, Food, Sports, Collaboration, and Dance.
To participate, creators have to be active during a certain period of time each year. Judges are selected from independent creators and experts in the online video industry.
Unlike most media competitions, this award also takes into consideration fan nominations. So fans are encouraged to vote for their favorite video makers or YouTubers, and the final nominees are given special consideration during the selection process.
Notable winners in the past include Casey Neistat, King Bach, and David Dobrik. This year the Streamy Awards will be presented on Friday, December 13th, so tune in along with millions of other fans to watch your favorite YouTubers win!
What About Other Fan-Based Awards?
There are a handful of fan-based competitions that have, in the past, recognized the achievement of content creators on YouTube.
These include the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards, Fox’s Teen Choice Awards, and the E! People’s Choice Awards.
These competitions allow fans to vote for their favorite media personnel and award the best in Pop-Culture.
In recent years, YouTubers have been considered more and more for these long-standing awards. For instance, David Dobrik won the Kid’s Choice in 2019 for which he received an award and a customary bucket of slime.
Other Less Common Competitions for Youtubers
Apart from the web and video-specific awards, there are other competitions where YouTubers have received recognition. These include awards for more traditional forms of media like Daytime Emmys and Tonys.
For the 45th annual Emmy Award ceremony, YouTubers including Roman Atwood, Vsauce, and Zac and Mia were nominated to win.
The Emmys have started to look across just television and are beginning to recognize long-form media on the internet, specifically on YouTube and YouTube Red.
Many are speculating that pretty soon, the Tony Awards and the Oscars may change their view on content creators on the web in an effort to draw more eyes and grow popularity among millennials.
What About Film Festivals?
At the end of the day, YouTubers are creators, and so they are no different from indie filmmakers.
With that said, it is not entirely far fetched to assume that a YouTuber or a group of creators could create a full-scale film and submit it to various film festivals.
More importantly, it’s already happening. In 2018 a British YouTuber named Adrian Bliss took home the Excellence in Performance award from the Buffer Festival, and the trend is growing.
Creators can submit their works to popular film festivals including Sundance, Cannes, and so on. If the work is deemed worthy of the coveted award there is no reason why a YouTuber can’t win!
Competitions, ceremonies, and awards are great means by which YouTubers can further their brand image and solidify their names as important voices in media.
Some competitions are great for monetary reasons, and others are fun ways for creators to network and interact with other people in the community. What can be said with a great degree of certainty is that YouTubers should be taken more seriously as they branch off from traditional media and form their own awards and competitions.
