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I just subscribe to YouTube premium to support my favorite application out there. I learn so much from the people who spend hours and hours making videos every

I just subscribe to YouTube premium to support my favorite application out there. I learn so much from the people who spend hours and hours making videos every month that I am more than happy to pay a measly $13 or whatever it is every month to YouTube.

hedora 3y ago
Why not pay via Patreon instead? They take 5-12% of revenue. YouTube premium takes 45%. Also you have more control over where the money goes with Patreon, and they’re far better corporate citizens than google.
j_bum 3y ago
*now a monthly $19. Still worth it for me as well, given how much I use it for entertainment and education.
- mrweasel 3y ago
  I believe you can get it for $9.99 or something like that, if you don't need YouTube Music. The product is called YouTube Premium Lite.
  - o1y32 3y ago
    Only exists in a few countries https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/2/22605455/youtube-premium-lite-pilot-benelux-nordics-experiment-ad-free-subscription https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/2/22605455/youtube-premium-l...
    - carlosjobim 3y ago
      And in other countries full premium is already cheaper than premium lite.
ThePowerOfFuet 3y ago
Nebula sounds like a better fit.
- cinntaile 3y ago
  Youtube has the content the GP wants, why switch to a platform with different content?
  - arnon 3y ago
    Because people here like suggesting alternatives that _they_ like.
- jasode 3y ago
  >Nebula sounds like a better fit. No, paying Nebula as an alternative to paying Youtube doesn't work for many viewers because most creators who create good content are not on Nebula. E.g. Many popular channels with worthwhile info such as Applied Science, Technology Connections, 3Blue1Brown, etc are not on Nebula. Also, many people who use Youtube for learning DIY repair, hobbies, coding, etc and Nebula doesn't really cater to those genres. E.g. I watched some videos about configuring Unifi networks and then some tutorials on installing some flooring. These types of videos are not on Nebula's platform. There is a huge variety and scope of educational material on Youtube and platforms like Nebula/CuriosityStream only have a fraction of that.
- izacus 3y ago
  Nebulas Android app is insultingly poor quality and pretty much unusable on tablets/foldables (it locks in portrait - who the heck still does that on a VIDEO app?!) I've had college students build better apps for homework. It's insulting considering the rather high price of a service.
k8sToGo 3y ago
I would not mind paying for "ad free Youtube" if it was like 5 - 10 bucks. I don't need or want Youtube Music. There was a YouTube Premium Lite at some point for some countries. Plus paying for youtube premium does not remove the sponsor ads inside videos. Also I feel like the algorithm has gotten worse and worse? I personally don't like to support that.
- zff 3y ago
  I pay for Youtube Premium, but still I have to run Sponsorblock to block the in-video embedded sponsorships and one uBlock origin scripts to remove Shorts from my Subscription.
ben_w 3y ago
If the ads were silent banners changing the aspect ratio of the videos, I wouldn't mind them. 30 second un-skippable advert to see a 7 year old 45 second clip? I press "back" and watch neither. Thinking of supporting creators: I looked at Nebula a while back as an alternative; I think there was some UX issue back then, but they've likely improved it and I should look again.
- throwaway2037 3y ago
  If the ads were silent banners changing the aspect ratio of the videos, I wouldn't mind them. This is an interesting idea. It is already used to some extent in live football matches broadcast on TV. The sidelines have their ads replaced. I think your idea is a good one and deserves some testing by Google/YouTube.
  - dividuum 3y ago
    You just know it would end up looking like the TV in idiocrazy after a year.
ffhhttt 3y ago
You could probably support them more directly over Patreon/etc. so they’d get to keep a much bigger proportion of what you pay
- jjallen 3y ago
  I do that too when I really want to support someone. YouTube premium is a way to support each producers videos, not only the few that I might patronize on Patreon. There are dozens and dozens of different creators of videos that I watch each month, so if I only used Patreon most wouldn't get anything from me.
  - phatfish 3y ago
    Watching the output of "dozens and dozens" of creators monthly sounds like a full time job.
sneak 3y ago
If you continue to give Google money you'll continue to get things like AMP, Manifest V3, Web "Integrity", and whatever else they think up to track you across the web. They're an ad company. They pay the creators per impression even if you block the ads. Blocking ads harms Google, not the content producers.
- moonchrome 3y ago
  No that's what you get when you're the product by being a free user. Paid service relationship works just fine for me - Google isn't ideal but YouTube is one of my main content sources + YouTube music for my family for slightly more than the price of Spotify family subscription - yeah it's an easy choice. Spotify suggestions and playlists weren't a seller feature for me for years. Maybe I'm missing out on a few podcasts.
  - ohgodplsno 3y ago
    No, Google will keep fucking you over and destroying the Internet, whether you pay or not. Not to mention the fact that what they pay out to creators is absolutely pathetic. Go find their Patreon, their Ko-fi, hell their paypal, anything but giving Google 13 bucks. Adblocking Google is morally right.
    - Shekelphile 3y ago
      > Adblocking Google is morally right. All ads should be blocked. I do not consume ads, and am not interested in paying a ransom to hide them.
      - ddalex 3y ago
        If you don't consume ads, please do not use any ad-supported service, that's the easiest thing to do.
        Shekelphile 3y ago
deleted 3y ago
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rhaway84773 3y ago
I’m not against YT premium, but wouldn’t a better choice be to give the people you’re learning from money instead?
- jjallen 3y ago
  I do when I regularly watch a particular creator's videos over and over. However, this isn't the case for most of the videos I watch. Lots of one-off views.
isaacremuant 3y ago
[flagged]
kaliqt 3y ago
This reads like an ad. I wouldn't support them that way. They shaft creators in every way possible. You should be subscribing to Patreons and their video subscriptions. YouTube Premium is NOT the way.
- jjallen 3y ago
  > YouTube Premium is NOT the way. So have 100 different Patreon subscriptions each month? The minimum pledge is $1. What if I watch 200 different YT creators? What about the short videos? Should I create a new Patreon subscription for each individual creator I watch? What if my interests frequently change (they do). Should I spend hours per month managing individual Patreon subscriptions? The original post is about blocking ads. Blocking ads reduces the amount of money going to creators. Now you are saying that paying actual real money to not see ads is also not the way. > They shaft creators in every way possible. I guess this could be true that YT "shaft[s] creators in every way possible". If this were true, I'm somehow guessing that not basically everyone would show their videos there, don't you think? There's a balance here; being universally against ads (which quite a few people here are) while also refusing to pay anything for content is not a congruent view. At a very minimum there is considerable costs associated with delivering the video content, as most of us know. And for the record, I do patronize the creators whom I watch lots of consistently.
  - neurostimulant 3y ago
    > I guess this could be true that YT "shaft[s] creators in every way possible". If this were true, I'm somehow guessing that not basically everyone would show their videos there, don't you think? The fact that content creators are still using Youtube doesn't mean Youtube is not shafting content creators. Youtube has killed most of their competitors so it's not like content creators have other options right now, but I suspect new competitors will show up if Google continue to enshitify youtube.
    - j-bos 3y ago
      Nebula is still going strong AND the creators there still gain from posting to youtube https://youtu.be/Alqt6RCEWdM https://youtu.be/Alqt6RCEWdM
msla 3y ago
Support them through Patreon because it's morally right. Keep your hand in the adblocking world because it's morally right. People can do two things.
Shekelphile 3y ago
I don't see a point in giving google any money when the price of premium seems to go up every time I open the page for it (it's literally gone up 50% in the last 2 months, with the cheaper tier also no longer being offered) on top of actively being worse than using normal adblockers since you won't get any equivalent to sponsorblock by paying for premium. It's literally worthless, at least until google begins clamping down on ad blocking.
tinus_hn 3y ago
A problem with paying is that you have to be logged on so you can’t avoid being tracked and having every video you ever watch linked to you for all eternity.
- chronogram 3y ago
  You have privacy controls in your Google account. I have web & app activity off, location history off, YouTube search off and YouTube watch history auto deleting after a few months. https://myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy https://myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy If you're talking about them building a secret extra profile about you with those things turned off, then they wouldn't need you to login for that.
  - tinus_hn 3y ago
    And if you believe Google is not storing that information anyway I’ve got a beautiful bridge for sale. If you don’t use an account you can create a fresh container every once in a while and start the game anew and you can choose to not associate it all with your identity.
    - flangola7 3y ago
      What evidence is there that Google is specifically storing it? Wouldn't that violate GDPR?
      - fifteen1506 3y ago
        Yes. But they aren't abiding by COPPA either so... (last week news, search for YouTube + COPPA).
      - tinus_hn 3y ago
        Read the privacy policy, they explicitly state they store it. Obviously, because in many cases they need to know who watched that. For instance for their licenses they need to be allowed to show you copyrighted content. You can ‘pause history’ which means ‘If you turn off your YouTube watch history and have no significant prior watch history, YouTube features that rely on your watch history to give video recommendations, like recommendations on the YouTube homepage, are removed.’ it doesn’t mean they don’t store it. Google stores everything and deletes nothing. If you don’t want Google to keep track of information, you have to make sure they don’t have it and never get it.
neurostimulant 3y ago
I understand the sentiment, but the creators actually only got peanuts (most don't even see any money) out of your $13 while the rest go to Google. You are paying Google for youtube, and Google pay (some) content creators with a tiny fraction of your subscription money.
- mda 3y ago
  Do you have numbers to back your claim? Afaik From ad revenue channels get 55%. They also get money from premium subscribers depending on how much time they spent on channel. I wouldn't call it peanuts.
  - 2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV3s_sESnmE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV3s_sESnmE Louis Rossmann: > If you gave a creator even $1 as a donation that is more than they will make from you watching years of ads on their content.
    - Vvector 3y ago
      The 2023 payout seems to be "$18 for every 1,000 ad views". If I watch a creator once per week, with 2 ads, he would earn $1.80 in a year. I just don't feel like paying 100 different youtube channels $1-$2 each every year.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
  - hedora 3y ago
    That’s true when they pay out. It’s supposedly hard to get to get them to actually pay. They say they pay out 55% of ad revenue per video and 55% of subscription revenue. Assuming 10% of video creators have successfully set up monetization (I made up that number), then they are only paying out 5.5% of ad revenue, since (as far as I know) the unclaimed ad revenue is not pooled and the distributed proportionately to other accounts. It’s unclear if they put YouTube premium revenue in per-creator buckets in the same way as they do ad revenue. If so, then they would only be paying out 5.5% of subscription revenue in my 10% example. If, on the other hand, subscription revenue is split amongst just the monetized creators that you personally watch, then they would be paying the 55% their marketing department likes to brag about. I haven’t been able to figure out which way they do the accounting. However, as of 2021, over their service lifetime, they paid $30B to creators. Their 2022 revenue was $29B So, they’re definitely keeping the vast majority of the combined ad and subscription money that comes in the front door (or revenue exploded in 2022).
tcfhgj 3y ago
I recommend donating money yourself (E.G. Patreon). It's not only more effective, but also doesn't support Google (main player in the ad industry)
- izacus 3y ago
  That's the same Google which is providing the whole transcoding, delivery and bandwidth infrastructure to deliver you those videos? Something that costs rather steep amount of money?
  - ThrowawayR2 3y ago
    The infrastructure for growing and preparing tobacco products also "costs rather steep amount of money" but isn't justification for supporting them. The incessant vomiting of advertising by Google into the faces of the public and the distortion of incentives for content creation has reached a point where the overused word "toxic" has really become warranted.
  - tcfhgj 3y ago
    I pay more than enough indirectly to Google (via buying products from companies that buy Google ads)
kzrdude 3y ago
I'm also intensely Youtube positive, even if I don't like ads or google. Youtube is one of the best things on the internet. The shame is that it's centralized with a single point of failure. The upsides of youtube are enormous - people learn a lot there. It's not just nerds learning about stuff, but everyone. How do I fix this thing on my car, etc? People show and tell about all kinds of topics. This is making people more knowledgeable and capable on a citizen level(!) The written word champions here will have to realize that for some, videos are a superior medium for transmitting know-how.
mike_hock 3y ago
Support the creators directly (most accept donations through side channels). Don't give money to Google.
mission_failed 3y ago
I'll pay Google when they start weeding out the utter garbage that is uploaded targeting kids. Things like frozen characters getting tired up and thrown in water, or their clay stomachs getting cut open. YouTube happily suggests these abusive videos when you are watching kids shows, and Google does stuff all about them
- jefftk 3y ago
  Are you taking about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsagate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsagate , which was fixed in 2017?
  - dragonwriter 3y ago
    The last sentence in the Wikipedia article you link provides reason to believe that the extensive and largely unfocussed show of action Google made in 2017 did not, in fact, solve the problem.
    - jefftk 3y ago
      Are you sure these videos and their targeting are still a thing? Your comment is the first I've heard about it in years, and looking now everything I'm finding is years old.
- mwidell 3y ago
  Just get the youtube kids app. It only contains preapproved videos that are fine for kids. Works great.
Art9681 3y ago
At this point I would pay those people to stop making videos and start writing again. Sitting through a 15 minute video to explain something that can be read in 2 minutes is a waste of everyone's time.
- devaler 3y ago
  I could not agree more. Finding succinct written information on the internet feels more difficult every day.
- wg0 3y ago
  But that's not all about it. You probably don't know amount of courses available on YouTube. Chemistry, medicine, engineering, mathematics and what not.
- chomp 3y ago
  Which, if people weren’t aware, is also a consequence of ads. It’s so the creator can get a mid-video ad. Even if you pay for yt premium, you’re still getting a garbage experience because creators fluff out videos to hit the higher minute mark.
  - jjallen 3y ago
    Some videos are drawn out but lost aren’t. People will drop if the video gets too boring. It’s also very easy to skip in video ads or forward or reverse to the most replayed part of the video.
- joenot443 3y ago
  I find it’s pretty unusual to find something being taught in a YouTube video that couldn’t be learned from a book, repair manual/schematics, or a university course. Nothing’s stopping you from seeking out written material instead, especially if you’d be willing to pay people to _stop_ making videos. The obvious reality here is that RandyLahey1989 from Halifax probably isn’t going to start a Substack about snowmobile repair, nor would anyone read it if he did, but his video on replacing the carb in a 2011 Switchback has hundreds of comments thanking him for his help. Wouldn’t you agree the internet’s a better place for giving Randy the chance to share his domain knowledge (and get paid for it)? I seriously think the “everything should be an article” crowd is a bit disconnected with how the average person prefers to create. The future of consumption is video for a growing majority of internet users, one would be a fool to pretend otherwise.
pbronez 3y ago
Me too. Also, the author of TFA ends the (crazy long) post by saying he just subscribed to YouTube Premium in the end lol
rpastuszak 3y ago
I pay, I support the creators I enjoy and I’m still force-fed ads pushing the stuff I don’t need, via sponsored content. We deserve butter! https://butter.sonnet.io/ https://butter.sonnet.io/
38 3y ago
[flagged]
TechSquidTV 3y ago
I and other educational content creators thank you. YouTube is not evil, the service they provide for both content creators and viewers on YouTube is not only fair, it is clearly unmatched.
rabbits_2002 3y ago
I wish they had a 5 dollar tier to just remove ads. I don’t want any of the other features.
super256 3y ago
As long as the youtube tos allows creators to upload videos with their own add I won’t be paying a dime for premium. Where is the point to pay for skipping 5s of ads, when there is another one by the creator for a whole minute in the middle of the video?
rglullis 3y ago
Give your money to the creators directly. It will be better for everyone.
maximinus_thrax 3y ago
This post is more of a technical breakdown of things, not some sort of advocacy for not paying content creators: > Disclaimer: I want to support content creators, so to be fair, after a few months of blocking YouTube ads, I am now paying for YouTube Premium; Just because I can break something, doesn’t mean I need to. Did you even open the article?
viktorcode 3y ago
For many it's not about supporting the platform and creators. YouTube can be unwatchable with ads. I believe this was done in part to push people to purchase premium. Some pay, some block, but nobody thinks the YouTube advertisement business is something done right.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
mardifoufs 3y ago
Paying for YouTube premium does not remove the sponsors, in video ad breaks and all. Actually the only way to do that on mobile is with ReVanced, not matter how much you want to pay YouTube.

hedora 3y ago

Why not pay via Patreon instead? They take 5-12% of revenue. YouTube premium takes 45%. Also you have more control over where the money goes with Patreon, and they’re far better corporate citizens than google.

j_bum 3y ago

*now a monthly $19. Still worth it for me as well, given how much I use it for entertainment and education.

mrweasel 3y ago
I believe you can get it for $9.99 or something like that, if you don't need YouTube Music. The product is called YouTube Premium Lite.
- o1y32 3y ago
  Only exists in a few countries https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/2/22605455/youtube-premium-lite-pilot-benelux-nordics-experiment-ad-free-subscription https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/2/22605455/youtube-premium-l...
  - carlosjobim 3y ago
    And in other countries full premium is already cheaper than premium lite.

ThePowerOfFuet 3y ago

Nebula sounds like a better fit.

cinntaile 3y ago
Youtube has the content the GP wants, why switch to a platform with different content?
- arnon 3y ago
  Because people here like suggesting alternatives that _they_ like.
jasode 3y ago
>Nebula sounds like a better fit. No, paying Nebula as an alternative to paying Youtube doesn't work for many viewers because most creators who create good content are not on Nebula. E.g. Many popular channels with worthwhile info such as Applied Science, Technology Connections, 3Blue1Brown, etc are not on Nebula. Also, many people who use Youtube for learning DIY repair, hobbies, coding, etc and Nebula doesn't really cater to those genres. E.g. I watched some videos about configuring Unifi networks and then some tutorials on installing some flooring. These types of videos are not on Nebula's platform. There is a huge variety and scope of educational material on Youtube and platforms like Nebula/CuriosityStream only have a fraction of that.
izacus 3y ago
Nebulas Android app is insultingly poor quality and pretty much unusable on tablets/foldables (it locks in portrait - who the heck still does that on a VIDEO app?!) I've had college students build better apps for homework. It's insulting considering the rather high price of a service.

k8sToGo 3y ago

I would not mind paying for "ad free Youtube" if it was like 5 - 10 bucks. I don't need or want Youtube Music. There was a YouTube Premium Lite at some point for some countries. Plus paying for youtube premium does not remove the sponsor ads inside videos. Also I feel like the algorithm has gotten worse and worse? I personally don't like to support that.

zff 3y ago
I pay for Youtube Premium, but still I have to run Sponsorblock to block the in-video embedded sponsorships and one uBlock origin scripts to remove Shorts from my Subscription.

ben_w 3y ago

If the ads were silent banners changing the aspect ratio of the videos, I wouldn't mind them. 30 second un-skippable advert to see a 7 year old 45 second clip? I press "back" and watch neither. Thinking of supporting creators: I looked at Nebula a while back as an alternative; I think there was some UX issue back then, but they've likely improved it and I should look again.

throwaway2037 3y ago
If the ads were silent banners changing the aspect ratio of the videos, I wouldn't mind them. This is an interesting idea. It is already used to some extent in live football matches broadcast on TV. The sidelines have their ads replaced. I think your idea is a good one and deserves some testing by Google/YouTube.
- dividuum 3y ago
  You just know it would end up looking like the TV in idiocrazy after a year.

ffhhttt 3y ago

You could probably support them more directly over Patreon/etc. so they’d get to keep a much bigger proportion of what you pay

jjallen 3y ago
I do that too when I really want to support someone. YouTube premium is a way to support each producers videos, not only the few that I might patronize on Patreon. There are dozens and dozens of different creators of videos that I watch each month, so if I only used Patreon most wouldn't get anything from me.
- phatfish 3y ago
  Watching the output of "dozens and dozens" of creators monthly sounds like a full time job.

sneak 3y ago

If you continue to give Google money you'll continue to get things like AMP, Manifest V3, Web "Integrity", and whatever else they think up to track you across the web. They're an ad company. They pay the creators per impression even if you block the ads. Blocking ads harms Google, not the content producers.

moonchrome 3y ago
No that's what you get when you're the product by being a free user. Paid service relationship works just fine for me - Google isn't ideal but YouTube is one of my main content sources + YouTube music for my family for slightly more than the price of Spotify family subscription - yeah it's an easy choice. Spotify suggestions and playlists weren't a seller feature for me for years. Maybe I'm missing out on a few podcasts.
- ohgodplsno 3y ago
  No, Google will keep fucking you over and destroying the Internet, whether you pay or not. Not to mention the fact that what they pay out to creators is absolutely pathetic. Go find their Patreon, their Ko-fi, hell their paypal, anything but giving Google 13 bucks. Adblocking Google is morally right.
  - Shekelphile 3y ago
    > Adblocking Google is morally right. All ads should be blocked. I do not consume ads, and am not interested in paying a ransom to hide them.
    - ddalex 3y ago
      If you don't consume ads, please do not use any ad-supported service, that's the easiest thing to do.
      - Shekelphile 3y ago

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

rhaway84773 3y ago

I’m not against YT premium, but wouldn’t a better choice be to give the people you’re learning from money instead?

jjallen 3y ago
I do when I regularly watch a particular creator's videos over and over. However, this isn't the case for most of the videos I watch. Lots of one-off views.

isaacremuant 3y ago

[flagged]

kaliqt 3y ago

This reads like an ad. I wouldn't support them that way. They shaft creators in every way possible. You should be subscribing to Patreons and their video subscriptions. YouTube Premium is NOT the way.

jjallen 3y ago
> YouTube Premium is NOT the way. So have 100 different Patreon subscriptions each month? The minimum pledge is $1. What if I watch 200 different YT creators? What about the short videos? Should I create a new Patreon subscription for each individual creator I watch? What if my interests frequently change (they do). Should I spend hours per month managing individual Patreon subscriptions? The original post is about blocking ads. Blocking ads reduces the amount of money going to creators. Now you are saying that paying actual real money to not see ads is also not the way. > They shaft creators in every way possible. I guess this could be true that YT "shaft[s] creators in every way possible". If this were true, I'm somehow guessing that not basically everyone would show their videos there, don't you think? There's a balance here; being universally against ads (which quite a few people here are) while also refusing to pay anything for content is not a congruent view. At a very minimum there is considerable costs associated with delivering the video content, as most of us know. And for the record, I do patronize the creators whom I watch lots of consistently.
- neurostimulant 3y ago
  > I guess this could be true that YT "shaft[s] creators in every way possible". If this were true, I'm somehow guessing that not basically everyone would show their videos there, don't you think? The fact that content creators are still using Youtube doesn't mean Youtube is not shafting content creators. Youtube has killed most of their competitors so it's not like content creators have other options right now, but I suspect new competitors will show up if Google continue to enshitify youtube.
  - j-bos 3y ago
    Nebula is still going strong AND the creators there still gain from posting to youtube https://youtu.be/Alqt6RCEWdM https://youtu.be/Alqt6RCEWdM

msla 3y ago

Support them through Patreon because it's morally right. Keep your hand in the adblocking world because it's morally right. People can do two things.

Shekelphile 3y ago

I don't see a point in giving google any money when the price of premium seems to go up every time I open the page for it (it's literally gone up 50% in the last 2 months, with the cheaper tier also no longer being offered) on top of actively being worse than using normal adblockers since you won't get any equivalent to sponsorblock by paying for premium. It's literally worthless, at least until google begins clamping down on ad blocking.

tinus_hn 3y ago

A problem with paying is that you have to be logged on so you can’t avoid being tracked and having every video you ever watch linked to you for all eternity.

chronogram 3y ago
You have privacy controls in your Google account. I have web & app activity off, location history off, YouTube search off and YouTube watch history auto deleting after a few months. https://myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy https://myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy If you're talking about them building a secret extra profile about you with those things turned off, then they wouldn't need you to login for that.
- tinus_hn 3y ago
  And if you believe Google is not storing that information anyway I’ve got a beautiful bridge for sale. If you don’t use an account you can create a fresh container every once in a while and start the game anew and you can choose to not associate it all with your identity.
  - flangola7 3y ago
    What evidence is there that Google is specifically storing it? Wouldn't that violate GDPR?
    - fifteen1506 3y ago
      Yes. But they aren't abiding by COPPA either so... (last week news, search for YouTube + COPPA).
    - tinus_hn 3y ago
      Read the privacy policy, they explicitly state they store it. Obviously, because in many cases they need to know who watched that. For instance for their licenses they need to be allowed to show you copyrighted content. You can ‘pause history’ which means ‘If you turn off your YouTube watch history and have no significant prior watch history, YouTube features that rely on your watch history to give video recommendations, like recommendations on the YouTube homepage, are removed.’ it doesn’t mean they don’t store it. Google stores everything and deletes nothing. If you don’t want Google to keep track of information, you have to make sure they don’t have it and never get it.

neurostimulant 3y ago

I understand the sentiment, but the creators actually only got peanuts (most don't even see any money) out of your $13 while the rest go to Google. You are paying Google for youtube, and Google pay (some) content creators with a tiny fraction of your subscription money.

mda 3y ago
Do you have numbers to back your claim? Afaik From ad revenue channels get 55%. They also get money from premium subscribers depending on how much time they spent on channel. I wouldn't call it peanuts.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV3s_sESnmE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV3s_sESnmE Louis Rossmann: > If you gave a creator even $1 as a donation that is more than they will make from you watching years of ads on their content.
  - Vvector 3y ago
    The 2023 payout seems to be "$18 for every 1,000 ad views". If I watch a creator once per week, with 2 ads, he would earn $1.80 in a year. I just don't feel like paying 100 different youtube channels $1-$2 each every year.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
- hedora 3y ago
  That’s true when they pay out. It’s supposedly hard to get to get them to actually pay. They say they pay out 55% of ad revenue per video and 55% of subscription revenue. Assuming 10% of video creators have successfully set up monetization (I made up that number), then they are only paying out 5.5% of ad revenue, since (as far as I know) the unclaimed ad revenue is not pooled and the distributed proportionately to other accounts. It’s unclear if they put YouTube premium revenue in per-creator buckets in the same way as they do ad revenue. If so, then they would only be paying out 5.5% of subscription revenue in my 10% example. If, on the other hand, subscription revenue is split amongst just the monetized creators that you personally watch, then they would be paying the 55% their marketing department likes to brag about. I haven’t been able to figure out which way they do the accounting. However, as of 2021, over their service lifetime, they paid $30B to creators. Their 2022 revenue was $29B So, they’re definitely keeping the vast majority of the combined ad and subscription money that comes in the front door (or revenue exploded in 2022).

tcfhgj 3y ago

I recommend donating money yourself (E.G. Patreon). It's not only more effective, but also doesn't support Google (main player in the ad industry)

izacus 3y ago
That's the same Google which is providing the whole transcoding, delivery and bandwidth infrastructure to deliver you those videos? Something that costs rather steep amount of money?
- ThrowawayR2 3y ago
  The infrastructure for growing and preparing tobacco products also "costs rather steep amount of money" but isn't justification for supporting them. The incessant vomiting of advertising by Google into the faces of the public and the distortion of incentives for content creation has reached a point where the overused word "toxic" has really become warranted.
- tcfhgj 3y ago
  I pay more than enough indirectly to Google (via buying products from companies that buy Google ads)

kzrdude 3y ago

I'm also intensely Youtube positive, even if I don't like ads or google. Youtube is one of the best things on the internet. The shame is that it's centralized with a single point of failure. The upsides of youtube are enormous - people learn a lot there. It's not just nerds learning about stuff, but everyone. How do I fix this thing on my car, etc? People show and tell about all kinds of topics. This is making people more knowledgeable and capable on a citizen level(!) The written word champions here will have to realize that for some, videos are a superior medium for transmitting know-how.

mike_hock 3y ago

Support the creators directly (most accept donations through side channels). Don't give money to Google.

mission_failed 3y ago

I'll pay Google when they start weeding out the utter garbage that is uploaded targeting kids. Things like frozen characters getting tired up and thrown in water, or their clay stomachs getting cut open. YouTube happily suggests these abusive videos when you are watching kids shows, and Google does stuff all about them

jefftk 3y ago
Are you taking about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsagate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsagate , which was fixed in 2017?
- dragonwriter 3y ago
  The last sentence in the Wikipedia article you link provides reason to believe that the extensive and largely unfocussed show of action Google made in 2017 did not, in fact, solve the problem.
  - jefftk 3y ago
    Are you sure these videos and their targeting are still a thing? Your comment is the first I've heard about it in years, and looking now everything I'm finding is years old.
mwidell 3y ago
Just get the youtube kids app. It only contains preapproved videos that are fine for kids. Works great.

Art9681 3y ago

At this point I would pay those people to stop making videos and start writing again. Sitting through a 15 minute video to explain something that can be read in 2 minutes is a waste of everyone's time.

devaler 3y ago
I could not agree more. Finding succinct written information on the internet feels more difficult every day.
wg0 3y ago
But that's not all about it. You probably don't know amount of courses available on YouTube. Chemistry, medicine, engineering, mathematics and what not.
chomp 3y ago
Which, if people weren’t aware, is also a consequence of ads. It’s so the creator can get a mid-video ad. Even if you pay for yt premium, you’re still getting a garbage experience because creators fluff out videos to hit the higher minute mark.
- jjallen 3y ago
  Some videos are drawn out but lost aren’t. People will drop if the video gets too boring. It’s also very easy to skip in video ads or forward or reverse to the most replayed part of the video.
joenot443 3y ago
I find it’s pretty unusual to find something being taught in a YouTube video that couldn’t be learned from a book, repair manual/schematics, or a university course. Nothing’s stopping you from seeking out written material instead, especially if you’d be willing to pay people to _stop_ making videos. The obvious reality here is that RandyLahey1989 from Halifax probably isn’t going to start a Substack about snowmobile repair, nor would anyone read it if he did, but his video on replacing the carb in a 2011 Switchback has hundreds of comments thanking him for his help. Wouldn’t you agree the internet’s a better place for giving Randy the chance to share his domain knowledge (and get paid for it)? I seriously think the “everything should be an article” crowd is a bit disconnected with how the average person prefers to create. The future of consumption is video for a growing majority of internet users, one would be a fool to pretend otherwise.

pbronez 3y ago

Me too. Also, the author of TFA ends the (crazy long) post by saying he just subscribed to YouTube Premium in the end lol

rpastuszak 3y ago

I pay, I support the creators I enjoy and I’m still force-fed ads pushing the stuff I don’t need, via sponsored content. We deserve butter! https://butter.sonnet.io/ https://butter.sonnet.io/

38 3y ago

[flagged]

TechSquidTV 3y ago

I and other educational content creators thank you. YouTube is not evil, the service they provide for both content creators and viewers on YouTube is not only fair, it is clearly unmatched.

rabbits_2002 3y ago

I wish they had a 5 dollar tier to just remove ads. I don’t want any of the other features.

super256 3y ago

As long as the youtube tos allows creators to upload videos with their own add I won’t be paying a dime for premium. Where is the point to pay for skipping 5s of ads, when there is another one by the creator for a whole minute in the middle of the video?

rglullis 3y ago

Give your money to the creators directly. It will be better for everyone.

maximinus_thrax 3y ago

This post is more of a technical breakdown of things, not some sort of advocacy for not paying content creators: > Disclaimer: I want to support content creators, so to be fair, after a few months of blocking YouTube ads, I am now paying for YouTube Premium; Just because I can break something, doesn’t mean I need to. Did you even open the article?

viktorcode 3y ago

For many it's not about supporting the platform and creators. YouTube can be unwatchable with ads. I believe this was done in part to push people to purchase premium. Some pay, some block, but nobody thinks the YouTube advertisement business is something done right.

deleted 3y ago

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mardifoufs 3y ago

Paying for YouTube premium does not remove the sponsors, in video ad breaks and all. Actually the only way to do that on mobile is with ReVanced, not matter how much you want to pay YouTube.