YouTube's Demon(itization) Problem
YouTube's Demon(etizing) Problem
And How It Effects It's Creators
As you can tell this is not going to be a normal music review blog. In this issue I want to talk about a problem with the YouTube platform and how it goes about the monetizing and demonetizing the videos that are uploaded to the platform. Now, you might be thinking "What does monetizing have to do with your music review blog and YouTube channel"? And to that I say that it means everything. As I will explain here in this brief article, through an example.
Now before I get into this example I need to give you some context about the ad-pocalypse that the YouTube platform went through. There is a lot of speculation about who or what started the ad-pocalypse in the YouTube community. But the truth is that this was coming along well before any of the recent events. Ad companies have for some time now been looking at how their ads are placed on creators content, and what type of content the ads get placed on. And in a world where money talks and companies, like Google (the owners of YouTube), who rely on the ad revenue that gets placed on the videos that are uploaded to the site. This sent the moderators and programmers at Google into overdrive to try and appease the ad companies and keep their cash flow running. So they created an advanced version of their already well used ad-placement algorithm.
This is where the moderators at YouTube programmed the algorithm to not only determine what ad to place on the videos, but also whether to place an ad or strike the video for demonetization. And when a video gets demonetized it begins to move further, and further away from being suggested. Of course, since back in April you are only eligible for monetization after you reach 10,000 lifetime views and get your channel reviewed to see if you follow the community guidelines. So the demonetization problem is the least of a new YouTubers problems. They, like me, have to find ways of getting our videos viewed so that we can meet that benchmark and hopefully get ads put on our videos.
Now on to why I think this new algorithm is a problem. Say you are a Creator that has the option of monetizing your videos. Then when you go to upload your video you pay great attention to what you put in it and how it could be perceived, and you're fairly confident that it won't be demonetized. So, you upload it and it is going great for the first few hours. Then, the algorithm spots something that could be "shocking" and your video that was doing great is now dead in the water because no one will see it and now you don't have anything that can reach out and get new subscribers and grow your channel. Now, some of you might say "A lot of these bigger YouTubers, especially the musicians, have other sources of income that can make up for the money they would lose in ad revenue." While that is true, it brings up my ultimate point about the demon that plagues this new algorithm. And that problem is censoring unnecessary content. And since you bring up the musicians this problem is definitely a significant one. Because music is an art form. And art is supposed to be thought provoking, and creators make their content to express their art in a way that connects to the message that they are trying to convey.
Furthermore. Many of these YouTubers, even if their main source still rely on monetization for the purpose I mentioned before. That purpose being exposure. As I stated that if a video gets demonetized then it doesn't pop up on the suggested videos on peoples pages. So say you are a musician, or you don't rely on ads for your income, in the description of your videos you put links to your website, merch shop, Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, and any other link where people can check you out and purchase or stream things to support you monetarily. If your video is not getting suggested and spread around then no one will see your links and they wont be able to buy or stream anything of yours, and then you won't make any money and you won't be able to continue to do your art and share your creations with the world.
This is why I say that the algorithm is a demon to the platform. It was created out of YouTube's fear that the ad companies would pull all of their ads from the platform because of some of the content not being totally PC, family friendly, or non-triggering. So they tuned their algorithm to a ridiculous standard that strikes some pretty tame videos that have a very microscopic thing that might be taken out of context by one or two people. So they get their videos struck down pointlessly and now they have lost a major area that could drive traffic to the sources that help them make money as well. All because ad companies are worried about their ads being put on the wrong videos (See the video for an extended break down of why I think that this is garbage), and YouTube is afraid of losing their money. So the only people who are getting hurt are the ones who create the content that YouTube can place ads on.
Now musicians aren't the only ones who are hit hard by this. The Gaming community has been hit hard because of the content of some of the games that are streamed and filmed for YouTube channels. And another one that was hit hard, possibly the hardest are the LGBTQ+ creators and some of their LGBTQ+ related content. And all I have to say since I am not one of those creators is why? Most of the content I have seen that is getting the strikes are ones that deal with issues for members of that community and offering their life experiences and advice to make their life easier. Now, being a constitution loving American I have to say that it looks like an infringement on someones freedom of speech, and also a freedom of their expression. In the end what this looks like to me is nothing more than greed getting in the way creativity and expression. And to me that's just not right.
Well that's the end of that rant. Be sure to check out the video where I go in depth on a couple of the points mentioned in this article. Also, be sure to check out the reviews that I released yesterday. While you're there, please give the video a thumbs up, subscribe to my channel, hit the bell for notifications of new videos, and share them with your friends so that I can reach that 10k views mark and get my channel monetized. And if you like what I do and you want to support me you can check out my Patreon page full of great perks for my patrons. Thanks for reading this and I'll see you next week.
This is where the moderators at YouTube programmed the algorithm to not only determine what ad to place on the videos, but also whether to place an ad or strike the video for demonetization. And when a video gets demonetized it begins to move further, and further away from being suggested. Of course, since back in April you are only eligible for monetization after you reach 10,000 lifetime views and get your channel reviewed to see if you follow the community guidelines. So the demonetization problem is the least of a new YouTubers problems. They, like me, have to find ways of getting our videos viewed so that we can meet that benchmark and hopefully get ads put on our videos.
Now on to why I think this new algorithm is a problem. Say you are a Creator that has the option of monetizing your videos. Then when you go to upload your video you pay great attention to what you put in it and how it could be perceived, and you're fairly confident that it won't be demonetized. So, you upload it and it is going great for the first few hours. Then, the algorithm spots something that could be "shocking" and your video that was doing great is now dead in the water because no one will see it and now you don't have anything that can reach out and get new subscribers and grow your channel. Now, some of you might say "A lot of these bigger YouTubers, especially the musicians, have other sources of income that can make up for the money they would lose in ad revenue." While that is true, it brings up my ultimate point about the demon that plagues this new algorithm. And that problem is censoring unnecessary content. And since you bring up the musicians this problem is definitely a significant one. Because music is an art form. And art is supposed to be thought provoking, and creators make their content to express their art in a way that connects to the message that they are trying to convey.
Furthermore. Many of these YouTubers, even if their main source still rely on monetization for the purpose I mentioned before. That purpose being exposure. As I stated that if a video gets demonetized then it doesn't pop up on the suggested videos on peoples pages. So say you are a musician, or you don't rely on ads for your income, in the description of your videos you put links to your website, merch shop, Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, and any other link where people can check you out and purchase or stream things to support you monetarily. If your video is not getting suggested and spread around then no one will see your links and they wont be able to buy or stream anything of yours, and then you won't make any money and you won't be able to continue to do your art and share your creations with the world.
This is why I say that the algorithm is a demon to the platform. It was created out of YouTube's fear that the ad companies would pull all of their ads from the platform because of some of the content not being totally PC, family friendly, or non-triggering. So they tuned their algorithm to a ridiculous standard that strikes some pretty tame videos that have a very microscopic thing that might be taken out of context by one or two people. So they get their videos struck down pointlessly and now they have lost a major area that could drive traffic to the sources that help them make money as well. All because ad companies are worried about their ads being put on the wrong videos (See the video for an extended break down of why I think that this is garbage), and YouTube is afraid of losing their money. So the only people who are getting hurt are the ones who create the content that YouTube can place ads on.
Now musicians aren't the only ones who are hit hard by this. The Gaming community has been hit hard because of the content of some of the games that are streamed and filmed for YouTube channels. And another one that was hit hard, possibly the hardest are the LGBTQ+ creators and some of their LGBTQ+ related content. And all I have to say since I am not one of those creators is why? Most of the content I have seen that is getting the strikes are ones that deal with issues for members of that community and offering their life experiences and advice to make their life easier. Now, being a constitution loving American I have to say that it looks like an infringement on someones freedom of speech, and also a freedom of their expression. In the end what this looks like to me is nothing more than greed getting in the way creativity and expression. And to me that's just not right.
Well that's the end of that rant. Be sure to check out the video where I go in depth on a couple of the points mentioned in this article. Also, be sure to check out the reviews that I released yesterday. While you're there, please give the video a thumbs up, subscribe to my channel, hit the bell for notifications of new videos, and share them with your friends so that I can reach that 10k views mark and get my channel monetized. And if you like what I do and you want to support me you can check out my Patreon page full of great perks for my patrons. Thanks for reading this and I'll see you next week.
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