Monetization review rejected, no specific reason given

[cbpayne]

They did not give me a specific reason. It was just a boilerplate form letter message, referring me to their monetization policies page, etc. On that page, there are various different things mentioned. I have no idea what it is they zeroed in on with my channel. Because they never told me.

Post the message they sent you. The reason will be there!

 

[Cyn's Corner]

This was their message:

Hi Cyn's Corner, Thank you for applying to the YouTube Partner Program. To evaluate your application, our team carefully reviewed your channel Cyn's Corner. Unfortunately we found that your application does not meet our YouTube Partner Program policies so we cannot approve your channel for monetization at this time. We have policies in place that we believe support a healthy environment for advertisers, creators, and users, which means sometimes making difficult decisions like this one. Please go to your monetization page to read more about the specific policy our specialists flagged for your channel. If you adjust the content on your channel, please consider reapplying. You can reapply to the YouTube Partner Program in 30 days. What this means for your channel Whilst you cannot monetize as a result of this, you still have access to most other creator features, and can: Upload videos Edit or delete your videos Communicate with your audience There is no change to how your videos are promoted in our search and recommendation systems. How to reapply We want you to have a chance to monetize, but to do that you will need to make some adjustments to your channel. If you want to reapply, you should start by going to the monetization page to read more about the policy your channel violated. Then review your videos against our YouTube Partner Program policies and our Community Guidelines. The next step is to edit or delete any videos that violate our policies. Please also note that standard YPP eligibility criteria of 4,000 public watch hours and 1,000 subscribers will continue to apply here also. In 30 days you’ll see the option to reapply on the monetization page. If you reapply, we will carefully look over your channel again and we will email you to let you know as soon as the process is complete. You can also check the status of your application on the monetization page. - The YouTube Team

 

[Cyn's Corner]

Sorry for the weird formatting of my post you guys. Internet is down, and trying to do copy and paste on my phone is a pain.

 

[Nicekid76]

In the end, my/our opinion on whether it is fair use doesn't matter. It's up to you and I guess youtube in this case. Sorry if it feels like we are dog piling.

I'm just wanted to help you understand why I think it may not have passed the automatic review. it's 100% unfair they didn't give you a reason. I don't understand how youtube still fails to communicate with creators.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[Cyn's Corner]

it does, and I did not feel like any of you were dog piling at all. I know that reaction videos can be seen as a definite gray area with regard to copyright. I knew that from the beginning, which is why I have always made a concerted effort to make my own videos be as transformative as I could make them. it's just kind of frustrating, because if they had communicated a specific issue to me, perhaps I could address it. But because they didn't, I don't know what to do.

 

[cbpayne]

I'm just wanted to help you understand why I think it may not have passed the automatic review.

Its NOT automated, its a manual review by staff.

it's 100% unfair they didn't give you a reason.

They did give a reason. Its in the rejection email. Waiting for it to be posted to see what it was.

 

[Cyn's Corner]

I did post it, up above. There is no clear reason given. ETA looks like it hasn't been approved yet for posting.

 

[Nicekid76]

If you want to reapply, you should start by going to the monetization page to read more about the policy your channel violated.

I would start there. Is there anything there?

 

[Cyn's Corner]

Nothing specific, just generic information (posted below). I already know that my videos classify as something that would be eligible for monetization, according to their own wording in the monetization info section, so it can't be that they're "reaction/review" videos that disqualified the channel. I just wasn't sure if it's my thumbnails not being unique enough or any current copyright claims (that I always dispute and almost all claims are eventually released automatically through YT, or if they're not, then a direct message to the copyright holder has resulted in them being released) or if there was something else, like metadata/titles. By specific, I figure that they would straight up a clear indicator like: "Your thumbnails aren't different enough from one another" ... or "You currently have copyright claims still in the dispute/appeal phase" ... or "Your metada needs attention" ... etc. At this point it's just a guess on my part and I'd rather know for certain so I can figure out what to do.

If you’re monetizing on YouTube, it’s important that your channel follows YouTube monetization policies, which include YouTube’s Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, Copyright, and Google AdSense program policies. These policies apply to anyone in, or looking to apply to, the YouTube Partner Program. Learn more about why we enforce channel monetization policies.

If you want to monetize videos with ads, they must also meet our Advertiser-friendly content guidelines.

Here’s a quick overview of each major policy. Make sure you read each policy thoroughly, as these policies are used to check if a channel is suitable to monetize. Our reviewers regularly check to see if monetizing channels follow these policies. Learn more about how we enforce our policies.

What we check when we review your channel
Our reviewers check content that best represents your channel against our policies. Since our reviewers can’t check every video, they may focus on your channel’s:

• Main theme
• Most viewed videos
• Newest videos
• Biggest proportion of watch time
• Video metadata (including titles, thumbnails, and descriptions)

The above are just examples of content our reviewers may assess. Note that our reviewers can, and may check other parts of your channel to see if it fully meets our policies.

 

[cbpayne]

This was their message:

​

​ ​ ​ Hi Cyn's Corner, Thank you for applying to the YouTube Partner Program. To evaluate your application, our team carefully reviewed your channel Cyn's Corner. Unfortunately we found that your application does not meet our YouTube Partner Program policies so we cannot approve your channel for monetization at this time. We have policies in place that we believe support a healthy environment for advertisers, creators, and users, which means sometimes making difficult decisions like this one. Please go to your monetization page to read more about the specific policy our specialists flagged for your channel. If you adjust the content on your channel, please consider reapplying. You can reapply to the YouTube Partner Program in 30 days. What this means for your channel Whilst you cannot monetize as a result of this, you still have access to most other creator features, and can: Upload videos Edit or delete your videos Communicate with your audience There is no change to how your videos are promoted in our search and recommendation systems. How to reapply We want you to have a chance to monetize, but to do that you will need to make some adjustments to your channel. If you want to reapply, you should start by going to the monetization page to read more about the policy your channel violated. Then review your videos against our YouTube Partner Program policies and our Community Guidelines. The next step is to edit or delete any videos that violate our policies. Please also note that standard YPP eligibility criteria of 4,000 public watch hours and 1,000 subscribers will continue to apply here also. In 30 days you’ll see the option to reapply on the monetization page. If you reapply, we will carefully look over your channel again and we will email you to let you know as soon as the process is complete. You can also check the status of your application on the monetization page. - The YouTube Team

I see the mods have now approved the cut and paste.
What does it say is the reason when you: "Please go to your monetization page to read more about the specific policy our specialists flagged for your channel."