YouTube Shorts over 60 seconds with claimed content: trim to 59 s

If a Short runs over one minute and contains claimed content, YouTube blocks it and it is not eligible for monetization, so trim a long cut to 59 seconds or less before you upload. Sume's video-trim does that for $0.02 per job, and its default exact precision cuts at the time you ask for rather than the nearest keyframe.

YouTube's Shorts monetization policy page (read 2026-10-04) says: "Shorts over one minute in length that contain claimed content are blocked and not eligible for monetization." It also says three-minute Shorts uploaded after October 15, 2024 can qualify under the revenue-sharing model, and that unedited clips from others' movies or TV, re-uploads and compilations with no original content added are not eligible.

What are the length rules in one view?

Only the facts YouTube states are listed. The page does not define how claims are detected, so I make no promise about that.

How do I cut to 59 seconds?

Pick a start, set duration to 59, and keep precision at exact and audio at keep. The source must be a media.sume.com artifact (import an outside file first with POST /v1/media-imports), a request needs an Idempotency-Key, and a source can run up to 1800 seconds. The allowed cut length is 0.2 to 900 seconds. I use 59 rather than 60 to leave a margin for container rounding.

import os, uuid, requests

resp = requests.post(
    "https://api.sume.com/v1/video-trim",
    headers={
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['SUME_API_KEY']}",
        "Idempotency-Key": str(uuid.uuid4()),
    },
    json={
        "video_url": os.environ["SUME_SOURCE_URL"],
        "start": 0,
        "duration": 59,
        "precision": "exact",
        "audio": "keep",
        "mode": "sync",
    },
    timeout=60,
)
print(resp.status_code, resp.json())

Does trimming fix a copyright claim?

No. Trimming only moves the video under the length line; a claim on the music or footage is still a claim. If the soundtrack is the problem, the real fix is audio you have the rights to use. The response also returns duration_seconds and actual_start_seconds, so you can confirm the final length before upload.

Keep the originality rules in mind as well. Cutting a long upload into pieces you own is normal, but the page rules out compilations with no original content added. The stored post on clipping your own long video into Shorts goes through that, and what's new for creators from Made on YouTube covers the wider announcements.

What if I want the full three minutes?

Keep the long cut and rely on audio you own. The page says three-minute Shorts uploaded after October 15, 2024 can qualify for revenue sharing, so length alone is not the problem; the claim is. If your edit needs licensed music, the 59-second version is the safer upload, and you can post the longer version separately where monetization is not the goal.

Budget the cut before you queue a batch: each trim is $0.02, so trimming 100 long videos is $2.00 before any other step. Videos longer than 1800 seconds must be split first, because the source limit is 1800 seconds.