Big Youtubers with few updates - why?

[McCool]

One thing that puzzles me is why big youtubers that have been around for a while - the ones that most of the time get 2 million views or more - do not increase their update frequency, or have let their frequency drop over time.

I see people that have a formula that probably does not take much time filming or editing, and they still stick to one update a week at best even though Youtube is likely their main source of income these days.

It seems to me that increasing the number of videos would have a massive and immediate impact on their earnings from Youtube. Maybe I am just greedy, but if I was in that position I would go to great lenghts to deliver 2-3 videos every week instead of 1. I would even consider hiring people to help me come up with scripts/ideas/production if the problem was that I myself was uninspired.

There might of course be very good reasons for handling things the way they do - at a certain level of 'fame' there are probably other sources of income that they might find more interesting or lucrative such as music, acting, endorsement deals and stuff like that.

As mentioned it just puzzles me - it seems like easy money just waiting to be picked up right now, and while it might not impact you much right now if you do it or not, it might be something you would regret not doing a few years down the road.

 

[echoraven]

Quality and fatigue.
It would be difficult to create quality content and upload more than once a week. The best produced channels in my feed don't do more than 1 video per week. If I were doing mine full time (my goal), I would struggle with a once a week schedule (of course my music and art is all done by me).
Fatigue-I have channels that upload several a week and I rarely watch all the content. I get tired of seeing "xchannel uploaded a video".

 

[Riddikore]

It would be difficult to create quality content and upload more than once a week.

Agreed. Unless someone records a lot in one day, most people take time work on stuff for their videos other than just recording. Many people plan each detail from lighting, audio, camera angles, editing styles, video length, release schedule, thumbnail creation, social media interactions, etc. Most creators are critical of their own work and want to put the best possible stuff out there. And once you set the bar high for yourself, you don't want to go back down in quality

 

[CaptainElisabeth]

They have their own lives to deal with, probably. That, and the high amount of demand from having an audience that big means that creativity gets stifled because they're too busy with the pressure of uploading, rather than just enjoying what they do. Also, creativity and ideas flow in and out just like anything -- they can't be expected to 'feel' the YouTube thing 24/7. They don't have to upload as regularly as we want them to, and they shouldn't have to. YouTubers are people too.

 

[shinyvictreebel]

I'm currently on a one video per week schedule on my channel, and that's for several reasons.
1.) I spend at least 10 hours on each video after I come up with the right idea.
2.) Coming up with a good idea takes a lot of time and effort, meaning there are days where I am focused on an idea that turns out to be no good.
3.) I have responsibilities to another channel on which I upload 3 videos per month also taking equally long to create.
4.) There are other things I spend time doing like competitive Smash Bros and spending time with friends.
So sure, I could in theory make more videos if I had nothing else that I ever wanted to do, but the fact of the matter is that I do have other passions besides making videos that I like to devote some time to, and I'm almost positive that these bigger YouTubers have similar situations.

 

[McCool]

They don't have to upload as regularly as we want them to, and they shouldn't have to. YouTubers are people too.

I totally agree.

It just seems like such a lost financial opportunity, especially considering how fast trends change. I am sure that a lot of the big names today - some of them already at a point in their 'Youtube-lifespan' where the number of subscribers are way higher than 10x the number of views on most of their newer videos - will not be around as major players in a few years.

I have to point out that I am primarily talking about those who make short 'talking to the camera about nothing in particular'-type videos where editing and production is almost non-existent, and the main effort is actually figuring out what they should talk about for 5-6 minutes this week.

I am sure a lot of those will kick themselves very hard a few years down the line when they realize that they could have made so much more money at the height of their 'fame' by working two days a week instead of one. And maybe along the way try out some new things once in a while (as a second video of the week - not as a replacement for the type of content the channel is known for) to see if that works out instead of trotting along in the same tracks for years.

 

[Krozjin]

Depends on the channel type. Does their content involve a lot of recording and editing? That's probably why. I see large youtubers that upload 1-2 a day, while others upload 3-4, and a few of the non-gaming channels I subscribe to sometimes do just 1-2 a week. It all depends on the amount of work that is needed to create the quality you see. If they could do more and get the same quality without being overworked, I'm sure they would.

 

[Cabbage Hunters]

Gaming channels like Pewdiepie can handle that sort of thing, but if someone like Nigahiga tried to do that, the content quality would fall off a cliff.
Although some youtubers do have side-channels for lesser-quality videos. For instance Shane Dawson and Nigahiga both have side channels for vlogs, tags/challenges, and things like that which are lower-quality but easier to make. They still make money off of those videos without bringing down the quality of their main channel.

It helps maintain the brand of being a quality video-maker, I suppose.

 

[Camermon]

I agree with everything that has been posted above. Some other reasons might be that they have more than one channel. I know a lot of the huge non-gaming YouTuber all have separate daily vlogging channels & some even have separate gaming channels.

 

[markkaz]

There are quite a few good points that have already been mentioned!

Making more videos doesn't necessarily correlate to being worth your time. Some people are spending those off-days trying to get brand deals. That's where the real money is!

Let's take another perspective. Let's say somebody is earning over $10,000 a month on their YouTube catalog. How many days a month do they want to spend making a video that gets 20K views ($20-30). How about 100K views? ($100-150). In the grand scheme of things, it is overwhelming to produce so much content and there isn't necessarily a worth-while payout.