YouTube Monetization Policy Changes 1/18/2018

I'm going to do my best to offer a perspective here, but I know that it is not a popular opinion. At this point content creators should stop thinking of YouTube as some kind of artists Co-op. Indeed we can all work together and support those channels that we enjoy support those creators we respect and consider friends but to take the notion that YouTube owes anyone anything is ultimately self-defeating.

I suggest instead that folks go forward and think of their channels in one of two ways. Either you are an artist participating in an art form for pleasure or Hobby, or you are an entrepreneur attempting to build a brand and competing in the marketplace just like the real world. The best analogy I can come up with is opening a restaurant. You might think of yourself as a great cook you might think you have some fantastic ideas on how to run a restaurant and you might go for it. You might invest your time you might invest your personal money in the hopes that people will come and want to "buy" your product.

But go into this understanding fully that on average 90% of new restaurants fail in the first year. That's just an economic reality. People try, people work hard and sometimes people fail. If you are really good at what you do and you offer a product that consumers find attractive then your "business" has a chance to grow.

And like every aspiring business owner you will face obstacles and challenges that are simply a reality. Whether it's thousands of restaurants that offer the same types of food you do or thousands of other channels on YouTube that offer similar content to yours. No one is simply going to bulldoze those factors and clear the way for you because it's the right thing to do or because you deserve it for working so hard.

Every aspiring business owner also has to contend with things like government regulations, business laws, taxes etc, etc and whether or not that's fair or unfair is completely irrelevant. It's a reality. You have to understand and accept this reality as something you cannot change and you have to make that informed decision whether or not you want to compete in this market place for that market share to try and earn money. Let me say again there are no guarantees. You might fail.

We can pound our fists and decry our Broken Hearts and Spirits all day long but do you know what happens when that new restaurant owner gives up turns off the grill and shuts the doors? Another entrepreneur steps in line to take their shot at that market share.

For every Call of Duty let's play streamer who throws their headset down and quits because they're not making $0.10 off of every video there are plenty of other Call of Duty let's play streamers who think they might have a more Innovative or interesting way to do it that will step in and try to fill that void. The same goes for beauty vloggers, DIY enthusiasts and any other sub genre of content creators out there.

Every aspiring business owner also has to contend with large established Brands and competitors that seem to get an unfair advantage. Joe's Coffee Shack on Main Street is just not going to get the preferred text structure that McDonald's gets to sell dollar coffee. So again we can cry foul pound our fists that the big-name YouTubers seem to get preferential treatment and a free pass, that's fine but that is not going to change your circumstance and that is not going to get you any closer to succeeding. It might make you feel better, it probably doesn't, but to waste time focusing on why big names get handed all the goodies is to wonder why anyone bothers opening a convenience store and tries to compete with Publix or Krogers.

The point is go ahead and ring your hands gnash your teeth and get it out of your system. Then stand up straight, shake it off and make a decision about whether you intend to go forward with your dream of being successful on YouTube or not. Do not sit there and lament every unfair thing that gets thrown in your path and feels like a personal punch in the gut.

Dust off your apron and get back to cooking up great videos that you love to make and sharing them with people, or hang it up and realize that this might just be a hobby and very few people become rich from their Hobbies.
Good luck to everyone here, I wish you success, now if you'll excuse me I have a video to edit.