YouTube Creator Awards: How To Get Your First Play Button - VidIQ

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Sign InSign Up for FreeTable of contentsYouTube Play Button Award LevelsHow to Get a YouTube Play ButtonSteps for Ordering a Play ButtonWhat to Expect After You Order Your Play Button?Custom YouTube Play Buttons: Do They Still Exist?Copy LinkInstall Extension YouTube Play Button: Complete Guide to Getting Creator AwardsLydia Sweatt · 4 min read · May 02, 2022Get SubscribersSummary: Learn how to get your YouTube play button award at 100K, 1M, or 10M subscribers. Complete eligibility requirements and place your creator awards for order.

In many creators’ videos, you’ll spot the coveted YouTube subscriber plaque. It typically hangs on a wall or sits on a bookcase somewhere in the background, twinkling under production lights. We notice them – creators and viewers alike – because of how sophisticated they look. Smooth. Minimalist. A shiny finish.

And if you’re a creator, only one thought enters your mind: What is that, and how can I get one?

These awards are part of the YouTube Creator Awards program. They are available in four levels: silver play button (100K subscribers), gold play button (1M subscribers), diamond play button (10M subscribers), and red diamond play button (100M subscribers).

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Creators earn their YouTube play buttons through a simple three-step process:

1. Gaining a certain number of subscribers
2. Requesting the award from YouTube
3. Waiting patiently as YouTube reviews their channel

YouTube Play Button Award Levels

There are four YouTube play buttons, and each one signifies a different achievement for your channel:

• YouTube silver play button (100,000 subscribers)
• YouTube gold play button (1 million subscribers)
• YouTube diamond play button (10 million subscribers)
• YouTube red diamond play button (100 million subscribers)

Fun fact: The diamond play button isn’t actually made of diamonds. Two years ago, tech creator Marques Brownlee unboxed the award and explained its makeup.

“It’s a solid piece of machined aluminum – which is super heavy – and then polished on the outside with [a] crystal embedded in the middle of it,” Brownlee says.

How to Get a YouTube Play Button

You can order your first YouTube play button (silver) when you hit 100,000 subscribers. The award comes free. However, if you live in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine, or Uzbekistan, import duties or taxes apply. Most creators receive their awards within 4 to 6 weeks after ordering.

YouTube offers one free play button for each subscriber milestone. If you need extra copies for another setting or team, you can purchase additional play buttons after your channel is reviewed.

Besides reaching 100,000 subscribers, your channel must meet several YouTube play button requirements to claim your first award:

• An active YouTube channel with original content
• Videos uploaded in the past six months
• No recent Community Guidelines strikes
• Good standing in the YouTube Partner Program
• No scams or spammy content
• Compliance with YouTube’s Terms of Service
• Residency in an eligible country

If you’re unsure of anything at all, check your eligibility here.

Steps for Ordering a Play Button

1. Check your email as soon as you pass a subscriber milestone.
2. Find the email from YouTube saying you’re eligible to claim an award.
3. Copy the redemption code in the email.
4. Enter your redemption code on the Creator Awards website.
5. Type in your channel's name.
6. Add your shipping info.
7. Click Order Now.

What to Expect After You Order Your Play Button?

Once you send in your play button order, YouTube checks your channel for eligibility. This review takes about 1 to 3 weeks. When you are approved, your award is made and sent to your address. Most creators see their play buttons 4 to 6 weeks after ordering. International orders might need extra time. YouTube emails you a tracking code so you can follow the delivery.

Many creators record an unboxing video when it arrives. Viewers love watching these special moments, and by now, it's a culture on YouTube!

Custom YouTube Play Buttons: Do They Still Exist?

In the past, creators who got 50 million subscribers received a custom play button designed and made by YouTube. It typically matched the channel's theme and came in numerous shapes and sizes. Even better, the creators had no idea what the award would look like.

Unfortunately, those days are gone. YouTube doesn’t make custom play buttons anymore, so if you have 10 million subscribers, you’ll need to reach 100 million to get another award – not 50.

Only three channels managed to get a custom play button (officially) before the option disappeared:

• PewDiePie (ruby fist award)
• T-Series (crystal glass award)
• Canal KondZilla (multicolored award)

Of course, you must gain thousands of subscribers to get any kind of play button from YouTube.

Here’s how one channel used the art of suspense to reach 100,000 subscribers in three months.

FAQs

Do you have to pay for a YouTube play button?

No, YouTube gives a free play button when you hit a subscriber milestone. You only pay if you order extra or if your country requires import duties.

How long does it take to receive a YouTube play button?

YouTube says play buttons usually arrive within a month after you order. Shipping times can vary by location.

What are the YouTube play button levels?

There are four levels: Silver for 100K subscribers, Gold for 1M subscribers, Diamond for 10M subscribers, and Red Diamond for 100M subscribers.

Can I buy a YouTube play button without subscribers?

No, play buttons are given only to creators who achieve the set subscriber milestones and meet all the rules.

How to get a YouTube play button?

You can earn a YouTube play button by growing your channel to meet specific subscriber milestones and following YouTube’s monetization and community guidelines.

When do you get your first YouTube play button?

You receive your first play button, the Silver Play Button, when your channel reaches 100,000 subscribers.

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Lydia Sweatt

Blog Manager at vidIQ

Lydia Sweatt is a writer who loves balancing her article/blog time indoors with a healthy dose of nature. She bikes, hikes, and identifies edible plants along the way.

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