YouTube is a creative platform that rewards its creators’ subscriber milestones with plaques. These plaques are a way to commemorate video creators’ accomplishments.
Youtube sends creators their first plaque when they reach 100,000 subscribers. As a creator continues to gain subscribers, YouTube will send different plaques for different milestones. The highest reward is the Custom Play Button plaque which is rewarded to creators who reach 50 million subs.
Each of these plaques has a unique history and unique requirements that make these awards so sought after. Keep reading to learn more about the different plaques YouTube gives its creators.
The Silver Plaque
The silver plaque is the first plaque in the series of YouTube awards. It is given to a creator when that creator reaches 100,000 subscribers. For many smaller creators, this plaque is the beginning of a larger career in YouTube. Receiving the silver plaque signals to YouTube—and the channel’s subscribers—that this creator has grown significantly and is potentially on the path to growing into an extremely successful channel.
The silver plaque is not actually made of real silver. It is made of 92% nickel, 5% carbon, and 2.5% zinc. (Source) The plaque is mailed directly from YouTube to the address the creator provides. This plaque is also engraved with the name of the channel on the silver play button. This makes each plaque unique and personally valuable to the creator. The silver plaque is the smallest and has the simplest design of all of the YouTube plaques.
Other Plaques
As creators continue to gain more subscribers, they become eligible for different plaques. The timeline in which creators earn subscribers determines when they are awarded a new YouTube plaque.
Once a creator has earned the Silver Play Button plaque, the next plaque available is the Gold plaque. The Gold plaque is awarded to creators who have earned 1 million subscribers. It has a very similar appearance to the Silver play button plaque, however, it is slightly larger than the Silver plaque.
In March 2018, the look of the Gold Play Button was updated from a metal button housed within a window box with the channel’s name printed on it. The current Gold button has the creator’s name engraved onto the center along with the message, “For passing 1,000,000 subscribers.” It also is delivered with a letter from YouTube. This letter congratulates the creators for their achievement.
The next plaque is awarded when you reach 10 million subscribers. This plaque is known as the Diamond Play Button. The Diamond plaque is not made of real diamonds; it is made from a silver-plated metal inset with a colorless piece of crystal. The trophies get progressively larger with each achievement, so the diamond play button is even bigger than the gold one. The Diamond plaque is also engraved with the creator’s name and a short message.
Custom Play Button
The Custom Play Button is rewarded to large creators who have a subscriber count higher than 50 million. These awards are customized to look similar to the channel’s logo. This award is rare compared to the previously mentioned plaques. As of December 2021, only 29 channels have received this award. The first creator to receive this reward was the YouTuber known as Pewdiepie. Pewdiepie’s Custom Play button was shaped like the fist that is the logo on his channel.
There are only 4 channels that have surpassed 100 million subscribers. Those channels received what has been nicknamed the “Ruby Play Button” by PewDiePie who was the first to receive this award. The four channels that have received this award are PewDiePie, the Indian music label T-Series, Cocomelon, and SET India. The 100 million play button is currently the highest award that YouTube gives. (Source)
YouTube is one of the largest search engines and websites on the internet. As YouTube continues to grow, we can assume that it will continue to create new plaques. These plaques increase in quality and complexity of design with the subscriber count. The custom play buttons artistically encapture the channel’s values and brand. This logo is special to creators because of its uniqueness.
How to Apply for a Plaque
When the channel reaches the necessary popularity, a notification appears in the YouTube Studio. Following the steps provided by this notification ensures that you will receive the plaque. The notification instructs the creator with the following steps: Apply for the plaque on the website provided by the notification. Then you will receive a unique code from the Youtube administration. Use that code to arrange delivery to your desired address.
If more than three weeks have passed since you reached the required number of subscribers and you have not received a notification from YouTube in the Creator Toolbar, you should contact YouTube Support.
YouTube has the right to deny plaques to creators for any reason. YouTube carefully reviews channels before handing out rewards. The channels that earn rewards must follow the YouTube community guidelines. YouTube has refused to hand out awards to channels that feature explicit horror content or extremist political content.
To make sure that you can receive a plaque, you must meet the following criteria:
- The account must not have warnings about copyright infringement.
- The account must have a good reputation.
- The account must comply with YouTube’s Terms of Service.
- Your content must be original.
(Source)
Make sure your channel follows guidelines and has original content to ensure that YouTube will award you the plaque you deserve.
If you are a new creator who is looking to grow your account and earn these plaques, it is important to create content that you are proud of and that is original. YouTube rewards great content by putting it on people’s feeds and helping you grow your subscriber count. As your subscribers grow, the plaques will not be as important as creating content that represents who you are as a creator.
Earning plaques is just a perk of being on YouTube. Plaques symbolize the number of people that your content has reached and how many you have influenced with your creativity.
