Youtubers Selling Out

Youtube has become one of the worlds largest search engines and the most profitable online entertainment platform. On average, over 100 hours of video is uploaded every minute to Youtube, making it the world’s biggest video curator. Millions of people have youtube accounts and watch videos everyday, but some upload videos weekly or even daily for their viewers’ entertainment. We call these people Youtubers. Some Youtubers like Tobuscus, Rhett and Link, and Nigahiga make millions every year simply by making youtube videos, while the majority of Youtubers make little to no money posting videos. Youtubers generally make money through ad revenue (the advertisements that appear before and during videos) and some Youtubers also sell their own products. Probably one of the more common ways that youtubers make money is by accepting deals from big corporations to promote their products. It is the most profitable source of revenue for Youtubers, and although it helps them to make some money, many people see this as a form of “selling out.” Because of this, many Youtubers who use this revenue stream have lost countless subscribers and are berated in the comments section of their videos. Youtubers need to find a way to sell the idea of accepting funding from large corporations to their viewers in order to sustain themselves, and here are three different ways they can accomplish this:

1. Youtubers need to disguise their advertisements
   Product placement in videos can be very cheesy, but if it is well hidden or just a part of the set they can still make money and their viewers may never know that the youtube is making money from it.
2. Youtubers can be very upfront about it
   Some Youtubers make a video to specifically tell people that in order to continue making great content they need money. It’s really that simple. People shouldn’t be rude or mean to a Youtuber simply because the Youtuber needs money to sustain a life of video making. Hopefully their audience will be understanding.
3. Youtubers can turn it into something great
   Rhett and Link (the most famous duo on Youtube) literally create games, challenges and hilarious videos based around the corporations that help fund them. On their daily vlog, “Good Mythical Morning,” they had an “Axe Hair Challenge” in which Link would have to complete a complex task in the time Rhett could do his hair. It was hilarious and funny, and Axe payed them a lot because it was at the forefront of their episode. Viewers were not angry or upset that they made a deal with Axe because what they did was amazing and entertaining.

Youtubers are not sellouts because they work with large corporations. They want to continue to create content for their viewers, and this is how they pay for it. Youtube is a series of selling yourself to millions of people from all around the world, and part of that is selling a good image. Although these big companies can taint that image with product placement in youtube videos, it’s just something that we’re going to have to get used to, or something that the Youtubers are going to have to solve themselves in one way or another.