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I think we are at a golden age of being able to see/hear and experience new musical technology as it hits.
I have no idea how people gather revenue from YouTube, but I'm well aware there are some that manage to make a living out of it.
However, over the past year I think it is becoming saturated. 40 minute review videos about new Gibson Les Paul Tributes from every single musical YouTube outlet.
Also, let us not forget, anyone with a half decent iPhone/Smartphone and some basic recording skills/editing skills can do exactly the same and try to take some of the market.
How long do we think this will go on? Does any contribute to the Patreon requests?
I personally don't, and I never will. We pay to view TV/Sky/Netflix.
I might be completely alone here (and cynical) but as soon as I hear someone asking for money and telling me hard it is to video themselves playing video games for 4 hours straight, I switch off.
It's great for newcomers and for those wishing to learn more about music, I agree.
But, is it just one big advert?
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I don't use Patreon but for those YouTubers I like I will happily let the as run or click through so that they get a few pennies each time.
Like and subscribe also helps them and costs you nothing.
Anyone remember what it was like 15 years ago? "This is the warrenty card. Here's the manual. This is a sheet showing what other pedals they sell. This is where you plug the cable in." Wanna go back to that? Yeah, thought not.
Oh, wait...
If you look at knobs channel he's usually covering fairly esoteric stuff with an emphasis on sounds and visual presentation. Compare his review of the Earthquaker Devices Rainbow Machine to the PGS one.
Keith Merrow has said that some videos take him up to a week to plan, write, arrange, record, film, edit.
Sure channels such as PGS are adverts - but give it a go and try and make something that slick. It takes time and skill.
Recording music can be very cheap these days too - still a big gap between good pro and basic amateur, videos are no different.
YouTube is full of pretty mediocre guitar content, don't get me started on trying to find a bass demo that isn't out of time slapping. I don't agree the average person can just grab their iPhone and immediately create good content by virtue of owning some equipment, takes more than that.
Regarding money it's simple - if viewers don't pay then the other source is advertising, be that via channel views (less likely in guitar vs games) or direct tie ins with companies. It's just a simple game of numbers. Viewers by and large have decided they won't pay, so yeah a lot of stuff is adverts, or people hoping to eventually get paid by companies for doing it. That bubble may well burst, though it's not clear how many actually are in it and making money currently, I would wager not a huge number
Ebay mark7777_1
To me there's a gap in quality between those who generally do make money from it and the majority of those who don't.
The theory that anyone can learn it might be true but the reality is that they don't until they've spent a long time at it, just like any other skill... and then who pays them for that? Looks like the brands in a lot of cases, hence the adverts.
To respond to @BBBlues point - I do actually think it should legally have to be declared if something is a sponsored ad. I generally see this on YT vids, have no idea if this is supposed to happen on FB, Instagram, Twitter etc
Yes, they are ads. I remember Brett Kingman saying he doesn't put them out until they've been approved by the company that sent him the pedal. Actually, to be fair to TPS they made some obvious criticisms of the Ernie Ball pedals they'd been sent (in their above mentioned video) and yet I've seen them reviewed elsewhere in glowing terms.
There are YouTube gear channels that have come and gone and those that never took off so it's not exactly a sure fire way to get views. Some of them are very well made - I like Mike Hermans, for example, whose work is quite a step beyond a bloke with an iPhone.
You get user ones but they're generally of this 'isn't this brill' or 'isn't this shit' self selecting nonsense.
I'm not sure I've ever seen a balanced review on YouTube or have any idea who would pay for the making of such a thing.
But in theory I don't see a need for a physical product to exist for them to get paid. People give money to buskers, what's the difference with chucking a PayPal donation to a YT content creator. Some people watch YT more than Netflix etc
If you browse there are young people with channels for things like Lego who clearly get something out of it and they tend to just have the released set in front of them.
Whether someone pays them to learn a skill....thats a difficult one. It's not a traditional career and my young cousin is learning it at 12 years old...so....it's tough to negotiate what is right and wrong.
Whilst it is a growing industry the bubble will inevitably burst.
1. Money, or the prospect of it.
2. Attention.
3. They want the experience.
... I'm running out of alternatives here ...
So if we want a balanced review, reasonably structured, by someone who can tune up and play a guitar, through half decent equipment, then someone somewhere is paying for it. We shouldn't expect anything else.
I used to buy Guitarist. It had reviews by competent musicians who were pleased to be given the opportunity to try out a new piece of equipment. They told you what they thought about it. Over time we saw a migration towards shorter pieces by competent writers, whose editors reminded them not to upset the advertisers. They didn't tell you any more than you could read in the marketing blurb.
Will the YouTube bubble burst? No, it will just fade in the way that paper magazine sales are fading. There will always be amateurish videos, with low viewing rates. What we'll find is a way of identifying the few that we think are worth watching.