YouTube has expanded its Shorts feed functionality to natively support image carousels containing up to 10 photos. The update allows users to overlay text, stickers, and up to 15 seconds of licensed music directly via the mobile app. Audio sources include YouTube’s licensed catalog, royalty-free tracks, and the AI-powered Dream Track generator in select markets. Crucially, the platform isolates view metrics, only counting impressions generated directly within the Shorts algorithm rather than from legacy channel feeds like the Home or Subscriptions tabs.
This structural shift brings YouTube’s feature parity closer to TikTok’s Photo Mode and Instagram’s Carousels, drastically lowering the friction for artist content production. By integrating AI-generated soundtracks and licensed music into static visual assets, the platform unlocks a low-cost engagement vector for labels to sustain algorithmic momentum between major video releases.
Curated by MusicResearch.com from Music Ally. Read the full article at: Reach new audiences with photos on YouTube Shorts
