YouTube has provided an update on the roll-out of its new "Hype" feature for boosting smaller creators, but it is also going to be making a change to its Member Hub layout aimed at driving channel subscriptions.

First off, on Hype. YouTube first announced this at its "Made on" event back in September.

Hype will allow viewers to vest "hype points" into videos from new channels, which will then boost those clips for more views based on that interest.
some videos will qualify for Hype points that will allow viewers to draw attention to clips that they believe deserve more views.

According to YouTube:

If a video's been out less than 7 days from a creator with under 500,000 subscribers, you can "hype" it, and go beyond liking and sharing. The more hype it gets, the higher it climbs on a new leaderboard with the top 100 hyped videos from the week.
YouTube users will be allotted so much Hype that refreshes continually and will be able to boost videos "hype" up to three times a week. YouTube is also looking to let people buy extra "hypes," with a share of the money being sent to the creators. 

Which could be a great way to help make spotlight some of the emerging talent, and share top clips, although it is still some way off being available to all users.

According to YouTube, it is already testing Hype with "a small number of creators in Brazil" ahead of a wider rollout early next year. That pilot will give YouTube more feedback on the process so that it can tweak and fine-tune the Hype system to ensure optimal delivery.

But eventually, it could be a valuable tool to help showcase emerging content in the app, and get more people looking to the next rising voices.

On another front, YouTube’s also testing out a redesigned “Member Hub” on the channel membership page.
, the updated membership tab will make it easier to see what exactly you’re getting from your memberships, and to upgrade your subscription in-stream.

YouTube says this will better highlight the perks of being a channel member, while also streamlining your membership settings.

Finally, YouTube's also rolling out an update that'll make it easier to access its text formatting options within the "Description" fields in YouTube Studio.
Creators can now apply bold, italic, and even strike-through text through icons in the bottom left-hand corner of the description tab to further, more easily customize your video info.

According to YouTube, this is now available for all creators on mobile and is being rolled out on desktop.