My name is Josh and I am the creator of the YouTube channel TheInspirationalMind. It is a place I designed specifically for people to come together to find hope, love, and peace through inspirational music. That type of music has always been close to my heart, so I wanted to get more of it out into the world in a personal way. I am very happy to say that I’ve found that success I was looking for.

Eventually, I developed a second goal, which was only a dream at the time: reach 100,000 subscribers and receive a Silver Play Button from YouTube. I knew that six-digit number was possible to achieve, so I kept going. I kept finding new music / artists and designing new videos. On June 9th, 2020 (over seven and a half years after the channel began), I finally did it. My dream had genuinely come true.

Now that I finally made it to my destination, my excitement was at an all-time high. It was time to get that plaque.

Only… I couldn’t. I wasn’t in the YouTube Partner Program, which is a requirement to qualify for a YouTube award.

The requirements for entering this program are the following:

• Follow all the YouTube monetization policies.
• Live in a country or region where the YouTube Partner Program is available.
• Have more than 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months.
• Have more than 1,000 subscribers.
• Have a linked AdSense account.

After reading these guidelines over and over again and reapplying while constantly making adjustments to my channel, I was finally admitted into the YPP on August 10th, 2020. I couldn’t contain my excitement. I was finally going to qualify! However, when I reached out to Creator Support, I received devastating news: apparently, my channel wasn’t eligible for an award. My heart was shattered.

According to the email I received from the Creator Support team, these are the following minimum criteria that must be met in order to be eligible for an award:

• Your account is active – this means that it’s not pending, suspended, or inactive.
• You have no unresolved Community Guidelines or copyright strikes.
• You’re in compliance with YouTube’s Terms of Service.
• You adhere to advertiser-friendly content guidelines for monetized content.

As seen in both the requirements for the program and the plaque, following YouTube’s policies for monetization is a necessity. Since I have never had any issues with any of the other guidelines, this is where things get confusing. If I qualified to become a member of the Partner Program (and am following YouTube’s monetization guidelines), shouldn’t I also qualify to receive a plaque (since the requirement is the same)?

Here’s where I believe YouTube is in the wrong. In this same email, they state the following: “Specifically, Creator Awards are meant to recognize creators for the unique, original content they bring to YouTube.” Even though my videos may not feature truly original content, I have developed a channel with a great amount of originality of its own.

1. I have created a community where people have come together to express feelings of love and understanding to each other. I read through my channel’s comments every single day and can still hardly believe how many connections I see being made. That truly brings a smile to my face.
2. I’ve created my own unique format for each video I design. I choose artwork from a public domain to be used as the backgrounds.
3. I design the elements I use in each video with as much love and care as possible.
4. I have exposed thousands of listeners to new artists (especially Sleeping At Last), which, in turn, has greatly increased the size of their fanbase.

Take a quick look around my channel and you will find that every detail has been carefully crafted by my hands and my hands alone.

Except for the music itself (which I have received express permission from each artist to upload), there is such a great sense of originality in the channel I’ve created and designed. Should that nearly eight-year effort be disqualified from receiving an award entirely? I don’t believe that choice is justified.

I know for a surety that I’ve earned a Silver Play Button. If you feel the same way, please take a minute to sign this and share your thoughts. Every voice is truly appreciated.

*If you're interested in taking a look at my YouTube channel, you can do so here.