What Is YouTube’s Multi-Language Audio Feature? 

YouTube's multi-language audio feature allows creators to add dubbed audio tracks to their channel in other languages. These corresponding audio tracks can now reach audiences that before were blocked by language barriers.

Prior to this feature, YouTubers would create separate dubbed channels in different languages to reach a global audience. This feature allows creators to easily upload the audio tracks to their main channel. These dubbed audio tracks will automatically be served to users in different geographies based on the language preference set in their settings.

The feature also allows viewers to switch between the different audio tracks, so they can view videos in their preferred language. To switch audio tracks on a video, viewers can click the gear icon, click "Audio track," then select the language they want to listen to. The switching feature can be seen in the GIF below.

How Does It Work?

YouTubers who use the multi-language audio feature will be able to have their content available in multiple languages. This means YouTube will be able to push the content to viewers who speak the corresponding languages.

For example, if an English YouTuber uploads a German audio track for their most recent video, alongside a translated title and description, that video will then be presented to a German viewer with the translated title, description, and dubbed audio track.

How to Upload Multi-Language Audio Tracks on YouTube Videos? Step-by-Step Guide:

Step 1: Check if you have access to the feature. 

Go to YouTube Studio -> Click on a long-format video -> On the left panel, select Subtitles -> If you see an audio column where you can add audio files in other languages, then you have the feature!

Step 2: Click "Add Language" and select the language you want to upload.

Step 3: Under the column that says "Audio," click "Add."

Step 4: Click "Select File" and upload your dubbed audio track.

Make sure the audio track you are uploading roughly matches the length of your video, or you won't be able to upload it.

Step 5: Click "Publish" when you want your audio track to go live!

The audio track will now be visible to all viewers if the video is public.

Step 6 (Recommended): Add translated "Title & Description".

In the same section, add a translated title and description to help the performance of your dubbed audio tracks.

How to Replace or Change Multi-Language Audio Tracks on YouTube?

To replace the audio tracks, go to YouTube Studio -> Click on a long-format video with the audio track you'd like to replace -> On the left panel, select Subtitles -> Hover over the audio track and click "Delete" -> in the same section, delete the subtitle as well as the title & description for the language of that audio track, then refresh the page. You should see that the language has been removed from the video now!

How to Get Audio Tracks: YouTube Dubbing Services

To learn how to get dubbed audio tracks, read this article on "How to Dub a YouTube Video." However, the most proven and successful way of getting dubbed audio tracks is by using a service like BeMultilingual. This is because we use professional human translators, voice actors, and editors who specialize in creating localized dubs in over 40 languages.

There is a reason why top YouTubers such as Mr. Beast and Mark Rober use human dubbing services like BeMultilingual. The audio tracks produced by professional human dubbing teams have the best performance with YouTube’s multi-language audio feature.

Who Has Access to the Multi-Language Audio Feature on YouTube?

As of right now, YouTube has been slowly rolling out the feature to creators. So, only a certain number of YouTubers have access to the Multi-Language Audio feature. Read below to see what YouTube’s Partner Support has said about releasing the feature to other creators who weren't initially rolled out the feature.

Therefore, you may not have access to the multi-language audio feature if you weren't a larger creator when the feature was initially released in February 2023.

How to Get Access to It?

Here is an in-depth article on how to check if you have the multi-language audio feature.

If you have a close relationship with a YouTube representative, you could ask them for access to the feature. In our experience, we've had creators with 2.5M+ subscribers ask their YouTube Partner Support and gotten the following response: “We are asking for your patience for this feature to be rolled out to your channel, as it cannot be manually turned on for a specific channel” - YouTube Partner Support.

Why Do Some Users Not Have Access to It?

Unfortunately, if you don't currently have the multi-language audio feature, there is no special way of getting access to it: "It cannot be manually turned on for a specific channel," - YouTube Partner Support.

This is the response we got when asking on behalf of multiple creators, some with over 2.5M subscribers who didn't have access to the feature when it was released. The common theme found is that most creators think the feature has been removed, for example in this Reddit thread; however, this isn't the case. The truth is, most creators haven't received the multi-language feature.

In those cases, we encourage creators to create dubbed channels like our client Fidias. Fidias is a YouTuber with an English audience of over 2.5 million subscribers. In the past year, he's created a dubbed channel, Fidias en Español. The dubbed channel to date has over 130,000 subscribers and has both videos and shorts reaching millions of views.

How to See the Different Audio Tracks on YouTube?

For YouTubers: Go to YouTube Studio -> Click on a long-format video with the audio track you'd like to replace -> On the left panel, select Subtitles -> If you see an audio column where you can add audio files in other languages, then you have the feature, and this is where you'd see the different audio tracks you have in different languages.

For Viewers: To switch audio tracks on a video, viewers can click the gear icon, click "Audio track," then select the language they want to listen to.

Is It Worth It? What Kind of Results to Expect?

There is a reason why the top creators on YouTube are beginning to all adopt dubbing their content... it's because it's worth it. Specifically, here are a few of our clients that upload dubbed audio tracks to grow their YouTube audience.

Our Clients' Success with the Multi-Language Audio Feature:

SV2 3.3M+ Subscribers - "BeMultilingual dubbing has helped my channel reach a whole new audience! Views have increased by almost double since working with them!"

I Played In A World Cup Charity Match ft. iShowSpeed, Kaka, Hazard & Chunkz 

Glitch 6.8M+ Subscribers - "The team at BeMultilingual have been extremely professional and provided great translation services that boosted our video's performance."

THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: PILOT

Rocky Kanaka 4.2M+ Subscribers - "The need to help dogs in shelters and rescues is worldwide and thanks to BeMultilingual we're reaching audiences in multiple languages that are learning how wonderful adopting a dog can be!"

Watch what happens when I change her name from Venom to Honey 

JerryRigEverything 8.3M+ Subscribers - “Only 5% of the planet natively speaks English. I'm super thankful to BeMultilingual for allowing my content to reach the rest of the world!”

Be gentle with Apples new Titanium iPhone 15 Pro Max ... Yikes! 

Our Clients' Success with Dubbed Channels:

Fidias, a YouTuber with over 2.5 million subscribers on his channel, has created a dubbed channel, Fidias en Español. The dubbed channel to date has over 130,000 subscribers and has both videos and shorts reaching millions of views.

CubeINC en Español was able to be monetized within 10 days of uploading his first Spanish video. This is a more recent channel but shows impressive potential within its first two weeks of going live at the time of this article.

What Are the Benefits of Dubbing on YouTube?

There are many benefits when it comes to using YouTube’s multi-language audio feature:

Increase Overall CPM 

Increase Overall CPM Depending on the languages you choose to dub your videos into, the viewers may increase your overall CPM per video. Countries that primarily speak German and French, for instance, tend to have a much higher CPM than countries that speak Hindi or Thai. For a full breakdown of the correlations between the highest CPM and potential viewership for different languages on YouTube, read this article here. 

Increase Potential Viewership 

People consume content in their primary language, and there are approximately 400 million native English speakers worldwide. This means that out of 8.1 billion people in the world, only about 5% are natively enjoying English content on YouTube. But, of course, the world's biggest YouTuber knows this. See here what Mr. Beast says about increasing viewership by dubbing. 

Creating a Global Presence 

Having a global presence increases your brand's presence. When it comes to creators on YouTube, each YouTuber is creating a brand. The majority of large creators are now leveraging their audience to sell products or services. For instance, Mark Rober has "Crunch Labs," a monthly STEM toy subscription box for kids. In late 2023, he dubbed his entire channel, adding audio tracks in 14 different languages. Here is Mark Rober's social blade since he added the audio tracks. Prior to the dubbed audio tracks, he was getting around 200,000 subscribers a week. After dubbing a large portion of his content, he recently has experienced a massive surge in subscribers. In the last month (February 8 - March 8), Mark Rober has gained over 12 million subscribers and over 450 million views from dubbing his content.

What Languages Can You Upload?

There are 232 languages you can currently upload audio tracks for on YouTube using the multi-language audio feature. Here are a few of the languages you can upload audio tracks for on YouTube:

• German 

• French 

• Spanish 

• Portuguese 

• Russian 

• Japanese 

• Korean 

• Hindi 

• Arabic 

• Chinese 

• Polish 

• Ukrainian 

• Hungarian 

• Indonesian 

• Thai 

• Filipino 

• Turkish

If you want to see all the languages, we have compiled a list:List of all languages you can upload as audio tracks. 

If you are looking for the most popular languages on YouTube, read the linked article. 

Downsides to Using Multi-Language Audio Tracks:

The multi-language audio feature on YouTube is far from perfect. In some cases, it’s nice to have your entire audience under one channel: "Having a lot of different channels is just honestly a lot more work," - MrBeast. However, just because it may be more convenient, it still has some downsides: 

No additional sponsorship opportunities.

Specifically, if a YouTuber has an English sponsor, the sponsor is generally only paying for the English audience rather than the rest of the viewers the audio tracks bring in.

Non-translated on-screen text and thumbnail.

Unlike creating a new channel, there is no opportunity to add translated on-screen text and thumbnails. When creating a new channel, you have this opportunity, making it a more immersive experience for the target audience.

Not having the ability to separate communities. 

Some content may be unappealing to some cultures but not others. For example, videos with heavy gambling and drinking may not be best to release to certain communities. However, if viewers are subscribed to the channel, they would still see it under the multi-language audio feature.

Should You Create Dubbed Channels?

Having dubbed channels on YouTube is a great viable alternative to using the multi-language audio feature. For example, check out our client CubeINC en Español, who was able to be monetized within 10 days of uploading his first Spanish video!

Benefits of Dubbed Channel:

- Sponsorship opportunities from language-specific companies.

- Translated on-screen text and thumbnails (more immersive for viewers).

- Separated communities, which can be leveraged differently.