New YouTube Chief Neal Mohan Touts Upcoming Podcast and AI Tools for Creators, Says Channel Memberships Now Top 6 Million

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Neal Mohan posted his first open letter to creators as YouTube’s new boss, coming after CEO Susan Wojcicki stepped down last month.

Mohan, previously the video platform’s chief product officer, detailed new features and tools coming in 2023 and beyond. “Creators and artists are the heart of YouTube, and I’ll continue to put them first,” Mohan, whose new title is SVP, head of YouTube, wrote in the letter, continuing the tradition of Wojcicki’s regular updates to creators. “In today’s challenging macroeconomic climate, we’re offering opportunities to grow a business on our platform.” Wojcicki exited as CEO after nine years at the helm but will continue in a role as an adviser to Google and Alphabet.

According to Mohan’s letter, he first visited YouTube’s offices 15 years ago when it was located above a pizza parlor: “In its earliest start-up days, I saw YouTube’s potential.

Now, I’m incredibly excited to lead it into the future.” In outlining YouTube’s 2023 priorities, Mohan said the platform is “providing more opportunities for creators outside of ads by expanding our subscriptions business, investing in shopping and continually improving our paid digital goods offerings.” Last year, “hundreds of thousands” of YouTube channels made money on the platform for the first time, he wrote.