After initial testing over the last few months, YouTube is rolling out access to multi-language audio tracks to more creators worldwide — and it has enlisted massively popular YouTuber MrBeast to tout the new feature’s benefits.
The multi-language audio feature lets creators add dubbing to new and existing videos, helping them expand their global reach and reach new audiences for their channels, according to YouTube. In early tests with a “handful” of creators, including MrBeast, YouTube has seen more than 3,500 multi-language videos uploaded in 40-plus languages as of January 2023. Creators testing multi-language dubbed videos saw more than 15% of their watch time coming from views in the video’s non-primary language in January, according to YouTube.
MrBeast, who has over 135 million subscribers worldwide, has already dubbed his most popular videos in 11 languages and is hoping to bring more international viewers to his main channel through the feature, he said in a video interview posted Thursday as part of YouTube’s Creator Series.
YouTube’s multi-language audio feature “supercharges the heck out of videos,” MrBeast said. “Whether you’re in Mexico… [or] in India, all the dubs are in one place, on one video, so it’s also just a lot simpler for people to understand.” (Watch the interview below.)
MrBeast (real name: Jimmy Donaldson) was estimated to be the highest-earning YouTube creator in 2021. He’s amassed a global fanbase for his big-money giveaways, stunts and charitable initiatives— includinghis viral reenactment of Netflix hit “Squid Game,”which awarded the winner a $446,000 prize.
To use YouTube’s multi-language dubbing feature, when uploading a video to their channel, eligible creators can add different audio tracks through the Subtitles Editor tool. Existing content in creators’ catalogs can be updated with additional audio tracks as well. If you’re a viewer, just click the video’s settings to see what audio tracks are available to start watching in another language. In addition, content with multiple language tracks will default to match viewers’ preferred language and users will be able to search for multilingual content via translated video titles and descriptions.
Watch YouTube’s Creator Insider interview with MrBeast:
