How much money do youtubers actually make?

MrBump

I don't think that I really understood it until my son convinced me to pay for that YouTube boxing thing at the weekend so he could watch it on the "big telly".  KSI vs some white guy who had filmed a Japanese suicide forest, apparently...

It's not media that I grew up with...  I think those of us who are an older generation are used to being told what to watch and when to watch it - the new media is far more user selected.  I think that's OK, I don't think it's a bad thing at all.

Kinda reminds me of the Elton John thing - can't remember the quote, but he was lamenting modern music technology, saying something along the lines of "it's not special anymore, anyone can make music".

Well - good!  That's an awesome thing - music technology has got to the point where if you have a talent and a USP, you can create and get your music to an audience.

I guess TV media is catching up with music.

Tone71

My son makes about £150 a month from his you tube channel, he has 10.5k subscribers and he does work bloody hard at it.

It`s not easy money that is for sure.

munckee

Tone71 said:

My son makes about £150 a month from his you tube channel, he has 10.5k subscribers and he does work bloody hard at it.

It`s not easy money that is for sure.

Hope you're charging him rent mate : )

Tone71

munckee said:

Tone71 said:

My son makes about £150 a month from his you tube channel, he has 10.5k subscribers and he does work bloody hard at it.

It`s not easy money that is for sure.

Hope you're charging him rent mate : )

Only 20% of all earnings, I`m kind like that!

ToneControl

darthed1981 said:

ToneControl said:

What bothers me (aside from Jealousy) is the same as with X-Factor:
It encourages kids to think they don't need to worry about school or work, because they can just "make it big" because they've seen Zoella do it, and so why bother putting any long-term effort into school, or learning to play an instrument, if you can just turn up and sing, or vlog your shopping trips.

They would be learning the wrong lesson though.

A good Youtube video takes quite a lot of time and work to put together.  The best have production values and quality that would have been the envy of most TV twenty years ago.  After all this there is no guarantee of a return on your investment.

Building a brand and a following is even more difficult.  Zoella succeeded because she did what she did best and first.

The X-factor contestants to continue a career in "music" need to work their asses off, they don't have it easy.  Most end up on the pubs and clubs circuit, same as most bands.

I know. The kids don't seem to see that though.

duotone

Legionreturns said:

Most of the gaming streamer types make their main income from Twitch, then subsidise it with viewable replay content on YouTube. 

If you look at people like Shroud, with 50-60k subscribers on Twitch and a regular stream of people paying to comment and get a mention you can see how they're getting their money. His full time job is sitting and playing games while talking to his subscribers. 

The routine of doing videos I’m sure early on was great but I bet it seems much more of a chore now.  Still they can do it without leaving the house and having to commute!

littlegreenman

That Youtube income site puts GCN (Global Cycling Network) at earning up to £350K a year. Sounds a lot, but when you think they have 8 presenters, an editing team and Play Sports taking their cut it's probably not a lot of income for the individual presenters.

And that's with over a million subscribers.

That said, all the presenters are ex-pro cyclists at National or even World level so I imagine it's another income stream for them rather than their main income and they mostly do it for the free bikes and holidays.

I doubt ex World TT champion, PhD in geotech eng and former University Challenge winner Emma Pooley struggles to bring home the bacon.

sixstringsupplies

I can confirm that I don't earn £2-£25 per month from Youtube. 

https://socialblade.com/youtube/channel/UCLQKsFHEzqT_on-YQBTgW-w

I am 50 subscribers shy of reaching 1000 subscribers, at which point you can "monetise" your channel. I really don;t expect to earn much from it, I do get a lot of views/minutes viewed though...so who knows. I do intend of adding more videos: 

more videos = more minutes = more money.

I haven't uploaded a video in months though,  so  you get what you put into it.

As others have mentioned there is a lot of work that goes into some channels and only the smallest percentage of people can make a living from it. It has more benefits though, compliments businesses, adds value to brands etc...(where would Crimson Guitars be if they had never started their channel 6 years ago)

It is very hard to quantify - I would estimate that my Youtube channel generates £350-£500 a month or so by referring viewers from the videos to my website, who then make a purchase. So whilst the channel itself earns sod all, it generates revenue for the business.

ThePrettyDamned

There is a reason more and more youtubers use patreon or ebooks (and often both) to supplement their income.

Gaming doesn't pay any more - education I think pays better, at around 6 dollars per 1k views rather than 1 dollar. I'm not sure how accurate that is. 

A lot of stuff on YouTube is false, making people seem more successful than they truly are. Certainly there is a trend of flashing cash around at the moment ,on things like mystery boxes and expensive experiences. Long hours spent filming and editing on expensive computers with expensive cameras and lenses (because standards are high) make entry tough.

Lastly, YouTube will demonetise wherever it can. 

Bygone_Tones

There's a lot of fakery on youtube. There's a guy called Tai Lopez that gets a lot of stick. Allegedly it's all hired stuff - the helicopters and lambos, girls in bikinis in the background etc.