Creators can add audio tracks in different languages to their content. The feature will be visible alongside the subtitles and playback options.
YouTube has announced a novelty that has all the potential to become revolutionary. From now on, creators can dub their videos in multiple languages: an actual multi-track audio function that integrates and completes the subtitles.
The feature dedicated to multilingual audio tracks has passed the first phase of testing, in which it was only made available to a selection of creators worldwide. To date, the platform hosts audio tracks in around 40 different languages within its dubbed videos. And according to YouTube, the test phase has given more than encouraging results.
Mr. Beast Marries The Dubbing Function
To present the new video dubbing function to the general public, YouTube has decided to involve its most popular creator ever. The reference is to Mr. Beast, pseudonym of Jimmy Donaldson: an entrepreneur who, at just 24, exceeded 100 million subscribers to his channel, obtaining the title of the most famous single creator in the world.
Mr. Beast has been involved since the early stages of testing described in the previous paragraphs. This is why he can tell the dubbing function in detail in the recently published video: from a technical and production point of view. But also from that of lived experience and the results obtained.
The creators said they recorded about 15% of views coming from videos dubbed in a different language than the main one of their channel. The figures released speak of an average of two million hours of dubbed videos watched every day throughout January 2023. All start from a sample of just over 3,500 dubbed videos uploaded.
How To Access YouTube’s Multilingual Feature
Even in the past, creators had found a way to dub their content. It was about uploading a new video for each language and putting all the products in a single playlist.
With the new multilingual function, inserting separate audio tracks within the Editor during the single-loading phase is now possible. Likewise, they can add new audio tracks to previously uploaded videos.
Using the multilingual function on the user side is also very simple. Log in to YouTube, select a video, and click on the Settings item, represented by the famous gear icon.
The new audio track selection function will appear (if available) alongside the classic options related to video playback quality or subtitles. In 2008, subtitles represented YouTube’s first step towards multilingual content that could be used worldwide.
Today’s multilingual audio track function represents a new, crucial step towards an increasingly global and welcoming platform.
