"It's Getting Harder to Make Money on YouTube"

I appreciate that everyone is quick to rally behind the community and proclaim their interest in making videos comes first and foremost from the audience they serve.

But what's weird and unnerving are these altruistic posts that seemingly push money out of the YT equation as if it were some deep sin and that "only the just" make videos for "nothing but the smiles upon the faces of the masses."

I'm not ashamed to say that one of the reasons I make my show is for money. I'm seeking every day to make better content that reaches a larger audience and gain more fans and more clout - which I can then parlay into something larger for an established entity. I am seeking to make money off of making videos, webisodes, and shorts. To build and grow as a content creator until I'm making a return on my investment.

But that doesn't mean that I don't love my show or pour my best into everything I do with a goal of getting better at it. It doesn't mean that I'm exploiting my audience for views and subs and don't give a damn about them.

If I can get more views that means more money I can reinvest in my product in order to make a better product that attracts more people.

I posted this article here because I see it as a possible future. One where the ad revenue dries up and the self made stars - whose livelihood DEPENDS on YT suddenly have to figure out new and innovative ways to continue. Weather that means working harder for more hours to make the same money or if it means closing up shop and hitching their wagon to someone else's caravan - either way it doesn't sound like good or stable news for them.

It means that networks like Nerdist and MyDamnChannel have less money to fund original webseries. Which means less opportunity for up and coming talent - and a LOT less risk taken on unproven IPs.

It also means bad news for the smaller networks and partnerships whose money nearly all comes from that revenue. If they're not making enough, they'll either take on as many new channels as they can until they're a watered down mess or they'll close up all together. I've seen a lot of web entities close up shop without a word and slip out with whatever money they have left for themselves.

I'm not preaching doom and gloom here - I've got all the hope in the world in YT, it's community, and my own work... I'm just saying that the weatherman said it might rain, and it'd be foolish to ignore him and not bring an umbrella.
 
What happened to making videos solely to entertain others without whining about making money off of them like the good old days of Youtube?
 
I would have to find a real job, not that Youtube is my current job atm, but I wouldn't stop making videos and I would still be trying to get new subscribers and viewers.

Plus I made a lot of new friends from making videos on YouTube :)
 
It means that networks like Nerdist and MyDamnChannel have less money to fund original webseries. Which means less opportunity for up and coming talent - and a LOT less risk taken on unproven IPs.

In my opinion, web series and bigger production need to get sponsors and not rely on CPM's.

I was making a video every day for a year and a half. Now, I don't have to. The machine is up and running. That being said, I still make 3-4 videos a week and half of them talk about the hobby. They aren't money makers. They are designed as content to give the viewer something to watch. If a basic video takes me 3-4 hours to get ready, shoot, edit, upload, and annotations, and I'm only getting 10K views, the CPM's aren't worth my time. I do it to stay connected to my audience but if I wasn't making the money overall (5 million+ views a month), then I can't be spending 3-4 hours a day making videos.
 
Interesting article. I think the age-old concept is still in YouTube's favor though. Wherever there are millions (and billions) of eyeballs watching, advertisers will be interested. So if you are creating content that brings eyeballs to the screen (and yes, that is for you artists and altruistic people out there who say they don't care about the $$, only helping others), then I'm sure the ad $$ will always be there. For those who say never make YouTube your career, they must be the ones who aren't doing it anyway. I'm a full-time creator and making more than I ever have in my life as a college degreed professional who quit his job for this silly little thing. And I have more time to spend with my kids than ever before. And I've only just begun. If you can dream it and if you have determination and smarts with perhaps a pinch of luck, you can crank this YouTube thing.
 
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