ANAHEIM, CA – In yesterday’s YouTube Keynote at VidCon, Tim Shey, Director of YouTube Next Lab, made a number of big announcements.  Shey announced a number of brand new initiatives designed to support partners and creators. He recaps these announcements in this video interview with Beet.TV

Shey talks about the launch of the first ever YouTube Rewards Program, which rewards partners that have garnered 1 million subscribers with a giant, framed gold play button and channels that have reached 100,000 subscribers or more with exclusive YouTube gear gift cards.

YouTube also announced that they are opening up free production spaces for YouTube partners and creators.  Shey says, “This year we’re going to be opening collaborative spaces exclusively for YouTube creators to work together, to collaborate, to learn, to gather, to share ideas, and they’re going to be opening in London, Tokyo and right here in the LA area.”

More on the YouTube partners’ program in this feature in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine.

Megan O’Neill