Ads for sure made me a lot of cash but the game is changing...again. This time next year the whole Ads model is dead.
Unless you have millions of subscribers who you can upsell other products too. There will be virtually no earnings from ads.
This is just my opinion based on my research and Google's plans. I'd rather be building the future than hanging on to a dead tech duck. lol
My time is far to short and valuable to just 'wait and see.' I do wish you all the luck in the world @martiecoetser in whatever route you pursue.