What is the LBRY YouTube program?
LBRY and Odysee.com offer an easy way for YouTubers to republish their content to the LBRY network, engage with LBRY users, and earn LBC. This program is available to new and existing LBRY users. We provide a one-click sync process that gathers your channel and video metadata (i.e. covers, thumbnails, etc.), creates a channel for you on LBRY, and publishes your videos to it.
To qualify, the channel must have over 300 YouTube subscribers and recent, regular, and original content - see requirements and limitations section below for full details. Creators with over 500 subs also qualify for view rewards.
You can start the sync process during sign up or from the Upload > Sync my Channel option on Odysee.
Please note: The sync process will create a new channel for your channel which is later transferred to you. If you created a channel in the app beforehand, please see instructions on how to clean it up. In order to sync to an existing LBRY channel, you'll need to reach out to us and have a decent amount of subscribers already on it. If you delete a channel or content, we will not be able to resync or recreate it for you.
What are the steps?
There are three main steps to this program:
- Enroll - Provide authorization for us to begin syncing.
- Sync - During this step, we perform magic behind the scenes. It can take up to several days, your subscription count must be public at all times, and some sync limitations apply.
- Transfer - Claim ownership of your new LBRY channel and LBRY wallet, so that you and only you are in control. More below.
Enrolling
To enroll, visit odysee.com and sync during sign up or or from the Upload > Sync my Channel option.
The enrollment page will validate that you own your channel and that you agree to the terms of the LBRY YouTube program.You will also need to confirm your email. Please make sure to use your LBRY email account if you already have one. If you have multiple YouTube channels, they should all be linked to the same LBRY account (some exceptions allowed).
After enrolling, we collect information about your channel (title, description, etc.) and put your content into a queue to be automatically published to the LBRY network. This means you don't have to do anything to have your entire channel backed up and permanently available via LBRY.
When the process is complete, you will receive a notice from LBRY indicating your channel is available to view.
Channel and content transfer
Your wallet is a special file that contains the secret keys (like a password) to your account. This is where your content and channels are stored also.
The wallet transfer step ensures you have full control of your content and channel. After completing this step, LBRY will not be able to access your funds or modify your channel/account, outside of a permission we retain to continue publishing.
Once the channel and content is transferred, you'll be able to publish, comment, and edit existing content inside the LBRY app.
If you are signing into the LBRY for the first time, you'll be presented with an option to claim your channel. If the channel is still queued, you'll be able to claim it from the Channels page (right hand side above Publishes) after its synced. Existing app users can also claim their channels via the Channels page. If you created any channels or published content locally before initiating this step, see the cleanup section.
Note: if you choose not to enable wallet sync during your sign up process, it is vital that you have a backup of your wallet after the transfer process is initiated.
What's the exact difference between enrolling and transfer?
When you enroll, it means the content has been mirrored to LBRY and available on the network for anyone to view. You will get an email once this begins and once this is completed. The transfer process is the final step that gives you actual and permanent control over your account (though LBRY will continue publishing content uploaded to YouTube directly to your account after transfer, retaining a permission to do this and only this).
| Feature | Enroll | Transfer |
|---|---|---|
| Your YouTube publishes will be synced | yes | yes |
| You can use the app to publish to the channel and your content shows in the app | no | yes |
| You can receive LBC from tips and content payments | no | yes |
| You are responsible for keeping your wallet safe | no | maybe* |
*Yes if you do not turn on wallet sync in Settings on Desktop. Sync is on by default for lbry.tv.
Limitations
- Subscription count must be public on YouTube
- Synced video limits: 80 under 600 subs, 200 under 800 subs, 250 under 1K subs, 400 under 5K subs, 500 under 10K, and 1K videos for all higher sub counts.
- Video length limits: 30 minutes under 500 subs, 1hr under 1K subs, and 2hr for all higher sub counts. Longer videos will be skipped.
- Videos bigger than 2GB will be synced at lower quality (720p, 480p, ...)
- Due to high demand, you will be only be synced if you have at least 300 subscribers.
- Private or unlisted videos will not be published. Copyright and age restricted videos will also be skipped.
Exceptions can be discussed. Contact us at hello@lbry.com.
What happens if I created a channel and/or published to LBRY before transfer?
If you created a channel (possibly with the same name as your YouTube channel), it is recommended you delete your locally created channel, which can be done before or after the channel transfer process. If you published any content locally, you can edit the content and use your newly transferred channel to include it, or you can simply delete the locally published content as well. Unless you plan to experiment with a different channel name in the meantime, please be patient until the channel is transferred to you.
To delete the original channel, go to the My Channels page, click on your manually created channel, and click the edit button. Make sure you are in the right channel (check about page, # of publishes, etc), then click the Delete Channel button, and confirm it by typing the channel name.
You can do the same for any content you published locally. The other option is to edit the content and select your newly transferred channel. This will make the content appear under this channel.
Why can't I sync my channel?
Not all channels may qualify for the program, but users can always upload the content themselves instead. This may also include channels that promote mainly airdrops / money making content, or any content that does not look original/potentially infringes on copyright. Eligibility is based on a careful determined criteria to keep spam and abuse out, but everyone else is intended to be eligible. If you were rejected and think this was an error, please contact us.
Will my content continue to sync?
Your content will continue to stay synced as long as you are enrolled in the program. Videos typically sync within 24 hours and within an hour or two for more popular channels.
What happens if my videos get deleted from YouTube?
Your already synced videos are uploaded to our server and won't be affected by changes occuring to your videos on YouTube.
Will my videos stay on Odysee if I want to stop the sync?
Already synced videos will stay on Odysee and act as they were originally uploaded to Odysee.
Help me
If you have questions this article did not cover, or are having any trouble with the enrollment process, transfer process, or staying calm and happy under the unrelenting pressure that is modern society, please contact help@lbry.com.
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