YouTube goes after Patreon with plans for monthly subscriptions
Would you pay to get rid of the adverts on YouTube? That’s what YouTube owner Google is hoping as it is reportedly readying a new subscription service for the video platform.
According to The Guardian, the plan is to charge something like $10 a month and in return remove adverts for subscribers.
Where this gets interesting is the impact it will have on channels. YouTube has a vibrant creators community that currently relies on advertising income and in many cases services like crowd-fund platform Patreon – in which viewers pay a given amount every time a new video is uploaded, or a set fee to a creator every month.
Apparently the new split will see creators get a 55% cut of subscription revenue – with Google taking the remaining 45%. It remains to be seen how this will impact creators’ bottom lines, but it’ll be interesting to see if subscriptions cannibalise Patreon subscriptions – will people really want to pay twice for the same content?
To roll out the programme, Google is threatening creators to sign up soon – or face their videos all getting set to private. So expect a shit-storm in 5..4..3..
2 comments
Not sure why this would be viable when AdBlock and Ghostery exist.
This is completely inaccurate. Clearly, the author has no clue what Patreon is or why it was created so allow me to explain. Patreon was created to help creators (Youtube or otherwise) receive support from their fans to supplement the funds they receive via ad revenue. Many Youtube creators use Patreon which allows their fans to receive rewards in exchange for their support such as early access to new content or an exclusive feed with the creator. Patreon is in no way connected to Google and Google receives none of the proceeds. For more information visit http://www.patreon.com
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