If you want monetization and scalability, you’re gonna have to get ads. Ad-free subscription services that actually benefit the creators are exceedingly rare. Very few people (less than 0.1%) are “making it” on Patreon and the like. The bitter truth is that most users can’t afford to financially support their favorite creators, and damn near zero creators could get the level of exposure needed to be sustainable without an ad-based platform backing them.
Video hosting is expensive af. Ultimately, small-time content creation is completely dependent on corporate benefactors. This is why every video platform that’s tried to compete against YouTube has failed. Nebula is trying, but that’s only useful to creators who fit within its specific niche.
I’m not saying this as a vote of support for the current system. Just an observation of how the market has played out so far.
No, and neither has anybody else. Not saying that to be rude or dismissive, but just using their own numbers on the front page to paint a picture. They have ~3,000 paying members as of right now. Patreon has over 10,000,000 paying members, and even then only a tiny, tiny fraction of their creators are actually sustainable.
Paid subscription services like this are a great idea, in theory; I’d love to get away from ad-supported platforms. But the truth is that they just don’t work for all but a few lucky people.
That’s 100% true, but YT also foots the bill that creators would otherwise be responsible for when it comes to just the basics. Free hosting/distribution of high res full-length videos, globally accessible, with a player app that is actively developed and maintained, a recommendation algorithm to put your content in front of viewers’ eyes… That, alone, has tremendous value for a creator that they really can’t get anywhere else without paying out of pocket. All of those things would have to otherwise be paid for/maintained by the creators. While it’s not a direct payment, YT relieves a huge burden for creators.
It sucks because it keeps creators’ success dependent on corporate oligarchs. But at the same time, it’s also great because it gives them a fighting chance to get started.
If you want monetization and scalability, you’re gonna have to get ads. Ad-free subscription services that actually benefit the creators are exceedingly rare. Very few people (less than 0.1%) are “making it” on Patreon and the like. The bitter truth is that most users can’t afford to financially support their favorite creators, and damn near zero creators could get the level of exposure needed to be sustainable without an ad-based platform backing them.
Video hosting is expensive af. Ultimately, small-time content creation is completely dependent on corporate benefactors. This is why every video platform that’s tried to compete against YouTube has failed. Nebula is trying, but that’s only useful to creators who fit within its specific niche.
I’m not saying this as a vote of support for the current system. Just an observation of how the market has played out so far.
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I don’t think that necessarily follows.
Have you heard of self-hosted Patreon-similar Ghost ?
No, and neither has anybody else. Not saying that to be rude or dismissive, but just using their own numbers on the front page to paint a picture. They have ~3,000 paying members as of right now. Patreon has over 10,000,000 paying members, and even then only a tiny, tiny fraction of their creators are actually sustainable.
Paid subscription services like this are a great idea, in theory; I’d love to get away from ad-supported platforms. But the truth is that they just don’t work for all but a few lucky people.
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That’s 100% true, but YT also foots the bill that creators would otherwise be responsible for when it comes to just the basics. Free hosting/distribution of high res full-length videos, globally accessible, with a player app that is actively developed and maintained, a recommendation algorithm to put your content in front of viewers’ eyes… That, alone, has tremendous value for a creator that they really can’t get anywhere else without paying out of pocket. All of those things would have to otherwise be paid for/maintained by the creators. While it’s not a direct payment, YT relieves a huge burden for creators.
It sucks because it keeps creators’ success dependent on corporate oligarchs. But at the same time, it’s also great because it gives them a fighting chance to get started.
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