This is a blog post in response to the negative articles coming out last week about a small number of YouTubers making 6 figures from the ads running on their content, as well as some people within the web video community’s response to it. It is mind-boggling to see how other people’s success can be used and twisted to a negative instead of appreciating, learning, and rising up to make the space a better place.
Many of you reading this would claim and even agree with these recent articles belittling the money and success “YouTube Stars” have garnered, saying that it’s the very fact that they are so successful that people and studios don’t take new media seriously. To be honest, this was something we also felt somewhat years ago, but have realized how wrong we were. Most of these people are some of the true pioneers of new media by embracing the platform of YouTube, understanding how it works and building not just an audience, but a MASSIVE audience with sustainable and REPEAT viewership that few outside of “The Guild” can claim to have, yet their content, audience, and even YouTube overall is constantly put down by the industry. And why is that? Because it isn’t “real content”? Because it isn’t “narrative”? Audience is audience, and granted, there is a lot more we wish YouTube was doing to help discoverability of high quality content, and are among a few producers working hard with YouTube to understand that and help get them there, but that’s not the matter at hand here.
How many people truly want to watch short form television style content inside the web? We’ll tell you how many. TONS. Hundreds of thousands, millions, but you know why they don’t watch your show? Because you have not built a connection to them, because you haven’t built a personal brand and experience for them to climb aboard and want to support, because you don’t have a real reason for the show to be distributed online beyond just “making something”, and surprisingly a lot of the time because you haven’t created a very good show not just for the web, but for any platform. Part of the future of entertainment is what we just mentioned and is what new media is all about, and THAT is why the YouTubers are the first to find success. Make no mistake, it is success, and it is very real and should be given proper respect.
The ironic fact of the matter is, in the current state of new media where everyone is desperately wanting to prove the ability to have high view counts on high quality content but don’t know how to do it, guess who ARE the ones that have the ability to create higher end content and get it seen? The YouTubers do, and some of them are now starting to do it. They have realized that YouTube is the site where content creators can build an audience, that YouTube is the only place you can get this massive of an audience, and they have worked hard to establish themselves there because it is pretty much the only site that has proved itself, its infrastructure, and its subscriber system to be able to do so for countless people (vlogger, filmmaker, host or otherwise).
We have now been a part of many of these talented people’s production units, been their creative partners, there to help them achieve bigger goals and make better higher quality content. Sadly, even when they achieve this, the results are at times talked down about and still considered “the amateurs” and why? Because of petty jealously when it comes to the digital studios and “professional web series” community who put time, sometimes money, work hard for production value, then sees a high pitched kid screaming into the camera and getting millions of views and a six figure salary that now has turned that into a feature film and a television deal. If you have not been able to get that audience, then YOU are failing if that is your goal. Whether your goal is to make a living off of creating web content, or to use the content you make online to help you get to traditional media, then you should be looking at what these people are doing to help you see what you need to do to get there. It’s hard, it’s damn hard. But so is television. So is film. So why should this be different? All of us can complain all day that “Jersey Shore” is so popular and “Freaks and Geeks” was gone way too soon, but that’s entertainment. Why are we putting down these pioneers? If you were told in order to be a director of films you needed to make music videos or commercials to stand out and show your abilities would you not do it? Why is making different types of content online as a means to an end any different from that? Respect these people for what they have done in achieving their goals.
Without them there is no web video, or maybe that’s too strong, and it’s more that we would be so far behind where we are now in proving business models in the web video industry. Getting advertisers on board would be that much harder at this point since there would be far less people watching internet video and learning how to interact with it. They are the ones that have brought millions of people online and there wouldn’t be mass viewership at this scale without them. Everything we all are working towards is exactly what they have. They are proving business models better than anyone else out there in the web video space, especially because for the most part they are being far more honest, transparent and non-fraudulent than the studios and big companies that are out there right now boasting giant fake numbers on their web series that have no sustainable fan base whatsoever.
Amazingly enough, most of these megastars are not only humble about being so successful; they’re even sharing the wealth. What is the number one way one gets noticed these days in the current YouTube ecosystem? One of these mega stars makes a video telling their audience to watch you. They appreciate talent, and hard work, and good content, and they are SELFLESS with this. If you looked around some of the most recent huge successes online - be it AutoTuneTheNews, or MysteryGuitarMan, or FreddieW, or Julian Smith, or Reckless Tortuga – are all talented producers making various forms of high quality content who had found their own success to various degrees, but it wasn’t until a Shane Dawson, or a Phillip Defranco, or a Ray William Johnson, or a NextNewNetworks or many others out there brought the spotlight to them that they were brought to a new category of mega-stardom with the massive guaranteed viewership that they deserve. And now they pay it forward as well doing the same for others. A real community of talented people looking to see everyone succeed to truly build the space - is that not what everyone at least claims to want? It’s already happening. No matter if MSNBC wants to claim they all “suck”, the reality is they suck for their lack of understanding, lack of forward thinking, and the jealousy that goes with it.
There is so much more to be said, and so many examples to quote, but we’ll stop there. We’ll wrap up by saying the money is EARNED. It is valid. No one is yelling at actors, hosts, etc. in traditional media talking about what they make in a petty way of “they don’t deserve the money”. Get off your high horses and maybe you’ll learn something. Maybe there’s a reason why most of traditional media’s digital studios and most of the web series community hasn’t found almost any success. Be a part of this new media and start realizing that maybe you don’t know half what these people do. Be thankful they are the ones there building viable infrastructure. Praise them for their massive audience as proof positive that the future of web entertainment is already here and proven. Sadly though, due to negative people out for themselves and general lack of information of what being a next gen “New” creator in this industry is all about, they are put down, and as a whole, the web community will continue to be looked at as less than.
The real shame is not the content, it’s that they don’t make even MORE money. The sheer number of not just viewers but ENGAGED viewers rivals cable networks and the ad dollars should reflect that at least slightly (which it doesn’t if you know where YouTube CPMs are at these days). And one day it will, and you can all thank the YouTubers for being pivotal at getting us there.
-Benny & Rafi Fine
http://www.youtube.com/thefinebros
http://www.twitter.com/thefinebros