YouTube recently updated its Partner Program terms to completely demonetize small channels on their platform, which they have defined as those with less than 4,000 hours of watch time within the past year. Additionally, users must have a minimum of 1K subscribers to qualify for monetization.
"Though these changes will affect a significant number of channels, 99% of those affected were making less than $100 per year in the last year, with 90% earning less than $2.50 in the last month," says Neal Mohan, Chief Product Officer and Robert Kyncl, Chief Business Officer in their statement to the YouTube community.
They argue that this will weed out bad actors who post inappropriate content on their platform. In other words, if they don’t pay these bad actors, surely they will stop posting unacceptable content and violating their community rules.
Wrong. This argument is sorely and woefully flawed and is a punch to the gut to new publishers looking to get their content recognized. By their own admission, these channels make less than $100 a year. Do they really think that depriving the small percentage of bad actors using the platform of less than $100 a year is a proper deterrent, or that it will actually promote a healthier, friendly ecosystem? I know California just legalized marijuana, but someone there is smoking a little too much.
The LP Effect
The timing of this is suspicious as it comes after the Logan Paul controversy, and the tremendous flak YouTube received for delaying their “punishment” (http://fortune.com/2018/01/10/youtube-logan-paul-punishment/) on Logan.
So let me get this straight, your response to taking down hateful, racist, arrogant tools like Logan Paul is to demonitize “99%” of the small channels on YouTube? Logan Paul’s videos by the way, have not been demonetized.
The reality of what this new rule does is that it sends a strong message to newer channels that they do not value your content – you do not make enough money for them. Even if you did pass this threshold, guess what, there’s a 45% YouTube tax to every dollar you earn for the platform. Even Bernie Sander’s isn’t advocating taxes that high.
Don’t get me wrong, YouTube has been great to artists, entertainers, musicians, and everyone in between over the past decade. It has helped countless individuals who would otherwise not have gained any sort of following prior to the social media era to grow an audience and a fan base.
Times are Changing
YouTube has changed to a Broadcast channel and is no longer the breeding ground for creativity. Soon, they will find themselves with an outdated business model and their content creators will realize that they don’t have to get robbed over of over half their revenue to do what they love. The talent that has flooded the YouTube community will slowly find their way onto Steemit, where they can be part of a community with shared interests and goals.
I am not claiming that Steemit is a perfect platform. It is still in its infancy and by and large an experiment. That said, we are part of the future. We are constantly growing this community. To all the small channels who feel that they have been snubbed YouTube, you can find a new home here. And to everyone in between, you are more than welcome as well.
You view YouTube’s full statement here: https://youtube-creators.googleblog.com/2018/01/additional-changes-to-youtube-partner.html
Information about their monetization policies: http://tubularinsights.com/youtube-partner-earnings/#partner
Background into how this was a response to Logan Paul: https://www.inverse.com/article/40270-youtube-partner-program-monetization-changes-logan-paul
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