Why Donut Media Is Falling Apart: An Explainer

[@jlennon784]

Private equity destroys every business it gets involved in.

[@AlanisKing]

Fair! It’s a scary thing!

[@swmig19]

Every. Single. Time! 👏

[@Ottobon]

High speed welchian economics is a laughing stock for everyone

[@sebfettel]

I understand what you're saying but technically all businesses are private equity.

[@liajet24]

As someone who worked in PE, this couldn't be truer. It is a constant process to find efficiencies in the balance sheet and to do that easily, you make large changes to impact the short term profitability to make the asset more appealing to the next sucker holding the hot potato. The due diligence conducted continues to erode so more questionable deals occur and more drastic measures have to be taken to make a company appear financially appealing. Its a shit industry and honestly destroys everything.

[@kerc]

Private Equity companies: "Look at this amazing company making a lot of money, being popular, pushing out original and engaging content, and being successful! Let's buy them and totally change what they're doing."

[@AlanisKing]

😞😞😞

[@ashishpatel350]

they werent making alot of money. the reason they sold was because they didnt want the liability

[@milhousevanhoutan9235]

​​@@ashishpatel350there are a variety of reasons people sell but that doesn't change the fact that you're selling to a firm where no possible return is enough to leave you to make your money. Unless that return is ♾️ then MAYBE they'll leave you alone for a while. PE is a parasitic organism because when the time comes for the liability portion they just shutter the business anyway to avoid it.

[@TheColonel502]

​@ashishpatel350 how do you know this?

[@matt45540]

They were clearly making enough money to pay for the projects they were doing. Which grew exceedingly over the top. ​@@ashishpatel350

[@baphometazrael1892]

James just launched SPEEED a few days back. It’s good seeing James do what he does best: tell stories and entertain. “I AM SPEEED!”

[@Mark-bo7pb]

James got me hooked to donut

[@daveydmur]

​@@Mark-bo7pbI lived the hi/lows mostly. If Donut is smart, they drop some cash and do another one right away.

[@fintan9218]

Something about him always rubbed me the wrong way, he always seemed resentful towards the other donut personalities. His new channel is mostly long form advertising. People like him, and all the power to him and his fans but i wont be following speeed. Big Time i will be though, they are at least positive people and focusing on cars still.

[@16BitOG]

@@fintan9218 im glad someone else noticed it. his new channel is basically 'top ten this' but with a spin on it. donut sold out and so did he.

[@bloodthorne77]

Anyone else here because YT suggested this after watching the James Pumphrey "Why I left Donut" video? 😅

[@AlanisKing]

Thanks for watching!

[@KennyB221]

Yep

[@k9fe]

Yep

[@widersp13]

Yes

[@mustangmike08]

Yep

[@willemvanriet7160]

A channel can’t lose 3/5 of their faces and not lose a lot of momentum The charismatic presenters are half the reason we watch

[@yohann2768]

Shout out for Regular Car Reviews for doing the exact same thing for for than decade. Never selling, never beeped a word, consistently wholesome.

[@urmomfarturdaddied]

RCR has gotten even better since Brian came out. He's literally an OG

[@JasonSmith-ns1bi]

I’m not so sure I’d use “wholesome” to describe RCR, but they’ve definitely stayed honest to themselves!

[@genericsomething]

The wholesome versions of RCR are Hoovie's Garage and Doug DeMuro.

[@aaronleverton4221]

I let my late-teenage sons run riot through Mr Regular's reviews of such cars I owned as a young man as 240Zs and '78 Celicas, but my tween daughter can wait to experience such content. Mr Regular surely appreciates motor vehicles, but it's not exactly in a PG way.

[@QuickQuips]

​@@JasonSmith-ns1bimore like hole-some. For MEAT and BROWN.

[@ridge_r4cer]

Big-time is doing HUGE numbers so far. Congratulations to them ✌🏾

[@AlanisKing]

It’s awesome for them

[@chaschuky999]

I think people are overstating their performance to a degree, if they can get that level of views consistently that’s huge. Too early days to really speak to their success

[@bobboy5508]

@@chaschuky999but this is the fastest rise I’ve ever seen for a channel.

[@chaschuky999]

@@bobboy5508 a fast rise means pretty much nothing in the long run. I’ve seen plenty of channels pop up with big names attached and get hundreds of thousands to millions in about the same time frame. Your sub count and single video views mean nothing to the people with money, they care about your average view count/video over time. What makes money on KZbin is consistency, if you have a meteoric rise it can actually be harmful in the long run.

[@Undaglibenglaubengloben]

I'd guess it's mostly carry over from Donut. Let's see how they do in the long run.

[@keith6360]

Also happened in the UK with Car Throttle and then spawned Auto Alex, etc

[@AlanisKing]

It happens soooo much

[@DJPixcell]

Big time. It happens when channels grow to such massive lengths they can no longer keep up with demand.. they need money. The money comes in with people to help direct them to create content that generates revenue. But this unfortunately usually leads to the demise of a lot of channels as the true creatives that started it all no longer feel like they are making content they want to make.. but content they HAVE to make. It was a huge loss. Car throttle was so fun back in the day.

[@gavihacohen]

This is what happened to WTF1

[@MrEnglischjules]

I am in England and I have to agree about car throttle... And to auto Alex. And the new one All the gear.. Donut was good.. I watched say 90 percent of their videos.... But recently that went down quite a bit. Big Time I am enjoying and think I will as it was what I liked when simular videos on donut.

[@Jwalker76]

I was so happy to see Alex make his own channel. I mean it felt to me that he was the one that got car throttle to where it was and he was struggling to get any budget for his projects. You have a channel with millions of subs and the owners didn't want to give any money even when Alex was running on a small budget. I no longer watch car throttle these days. And now Alex has created another 2 channels with people he previously worked with.

[@cujoedaman]

I didn't watch Donut all the time, just when something piqued my interest, but I did notice a change from "let's talk about cars" to "let's rank Amazon purchases". They started getting sponsors for actual cars and it started to feel like a huge car commercial. Then, one episode I was watching (I don't remember which one), they were doing a project and one of them said something about need to hurry because they didn't want to upset the producers. That was a real eye-opener for me and I knew it was some big company that was in control.

[@zanthraxnl]

KZbin is paying less and less to content creators, the bean counters get nervous, the creative people get stifled. Content matters, the suits don't. Adding management layers is counterproductive.

[@davidp2888]

Only seven minutes in and I’m already getting a great education on the industry. This is really informative and entertaining.

[@AlanisKing]

I'm so glad. Thank you for waking up early!

[@davidp2888]

@AlanisKing You remembered my previous comment?! That’s so kind of you.

[@jonathan_reid]

Yes, this is a fantastic video about what's going on behind the scenes of this industry and other youtube channels.

[@AlanisKing]

@@jonathan_reid : )

[@AlanisKing]

@@davidp2888 Of course! I appreciate that you care

[@yovanilla]

I'm really happy that basically the whole of youtube is talking about this, because I've had about enough of rich people sucking the life out of other people's talents by cutting out what made the product great in the first place and then expecting the base to just blindly keep following The Brand based entirely on habit instead of substance.

[@AlanisKing]

It’s sooooooo sad. I think about it a lot

[@areitu]

@@AlanisKing I'm glad youtube's talking about it because I'm getting recommended videos like yours, and it's leading me to find a bunch of great automotive content creators

[@100SeriesLC]

The problem with Jalopnik is they got way too political during the Trump years. They went full left not even understanding their audience isn’t some woke EV driving soccer dad but Hector running a 10-second Civic in Georgia. I still get on Jalopnik but only to troll the EV article comments sections.

[@chainringcalf]

Extra props in this era to Hagerty for somehow not going this way

[@AlanisKing]

They make good stuff!

[@Boogy3000]

An insurance company… ok

[@jason5031]

@@Boogy3000 Obvious uninformed commenter.

[@TechSurreal]

They make their money elsewhere i.e. insurance. If the budget gets tight they will act the same way.

[@geko29]

Different model. KZbin is not their business. It is how they choose to spend a portion of their marketing budget. Their goal is not to make money on content directly. It's to develop an attachment with car enthusiasts, a portion of whom will think of Hagerty first when they want to insure that badass new car they just got.

[@flyin172s]

A private equity bought my company a few years back. They just layed off like 20 top managers to "align" the locations. AND some people we fired while the exact position a few miles away was opened, they weren't even asked if they'd be willing to transfer to that location to keep their position. Ridiculous

[@AlanisKing]

That is so sad, I’m sorry

[@robertopvvazquez1780]

Long story short, Corporate Greed ruins good companies.

[@Ezrasideas]

Thankyou

[@ChiTownTx]

Want to flush a company down the toilet fast? Get a big corporation to take ownership that has no idea what the business is truely about.

[@drkilledbydeath87]

Or that they just got give a shit what it's about either.

[@manuelito1233]

They know what the business is, make a lot of money and then dip when it can't any more money.

[@The_Slavstralian]

Exactly. Something like Doughnut Media does not need some beancounter in a suit that has never opened the bonnet of his car to check the oil, let alone know the difference between 95 and 98 octane or the nuances of timing or how much boost is too much. All a suit sees is " how to get more ad revenue " They do NOT care about the viewers the same way that the OG owners and hosts do.

[@aluisious]

@@manuelito1233 It's not make a lot of money, it's make it look like it will make a lot of money, and sell it to the next sucker.

[@aaronleverton4221]

The business is truly about business. You're not talking about the business, you're talking about the content. They are not the same thing. If the business of making content was so damn strong then there wouldn't be merch stores because content creators wouldn't absolutely rely on the non-YT revenue. Why else do all of your favourite creators have Patreon pages?

[@SabreLilly.]

Private equity has been a plague on online media and not just in the automotive space. Multiple video game, music, film, and tech media sites have been gutted because the investors only care about "Line-only-go-up" profit strategies. It's the same story at every outlet that you've described here and all it's doing is ruining the online content space as a place to develop a business/community. The suits at these investment firms don't understand being a creative and only seem to care about getting a quick buck without understanding why the money is coming in in the first place.

[@AlanisKing]

It’s so sad. Thank you for watching!

[@Artcore103]

They also push wokeness.

[@kyleputman8260]

They’re a plague on a lot not just media they’ll buy a company sell all there stuff and sell it for a loss as long as they made some money yo show investors

[@AccountFromGoogle]

i thought car scene and other crazy stuff media are the only types of media thats going to fall after the involvement of the invsestment firm, because the people working on it tend to be wild and dont like to be told. seems like im wrong..

[@Cschell]

Sadly they are in every industry now and ruining companies left and right.

[@HanabiiiUwU]

I was a Jalopnik regular and attended some irl gatherings from around 2007 to 2015 and the downfall was sad. Almost every car website fell the same way, unfortunately. I'm so glad you're still online sharing cars with us!

[@AlanisKing]

Aw thank you! What a ride!

[@andrewkiefer2628]

I know I remember an abundance of car and motorcycle websites and magazines I loved to read

[@chrismcfarland738]

Shareholders are why quality goes down, and prices go up. They ruin every company. Your average shareholder doesn’t care how a company grows. They just care that the stock price went up.

[@MaunoKoivistoOfficial]

I have no interest in cars, just KZbin, but this was very well explained. Your professionalism and presenting skills really show.

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you so much 🤠 I appreciate it

[@karlisk4]

While there were channels before, I think Alex leaving Car Throttle and being incredibly successful with his own stuff was a catalyst for all these.

[@AlanisKing]

🤝🤝

[@Jay-jb2vr]

You kinda see this behavior playing out across KZbin. People from big channels, leave to make their own individual channel.

[@mondriadimunir1016]

@@Jay-jb2vr Yeah!!! Watched James video, on pandemic, everyone's at Donut become content creator. Then they realize, they can do this by themself and make everything they want. No bosses.

[@Jay-jb2vr]

@@mondriadimunir1016 Smart move

[@enjoipandas]

DRS was such an incredible podcast, I miss it a ton. For me it was just so perfect in every way. Thanks for putting it all into a perspective, very well explained. Looking forward to all the future content! (PS. Im the girl dad from last episode’s mail segment! Thank you all for the positive message)

[@AlanisKing]

Awwwwww your message was the best!

[@jshumphress13]

@@AlanisKingI miss it too. I never got word that it wasn’t coming back so even though we are 10-11 races into the season, I periodically check my podcasts to see if there is a new one. 😢

[@lazypanda88]

imagine if DRS was still going and covering the current season! it would have been glorious. The team and the community were robbed of something great

[@oRicardoHetfield]

Man i really miss DRS! That why i know now Alanis and Elizabeth!

[@enjoipandas]

@@lazypanda88 like the podcast said, they bring a coors mindset to a champagne filled podium of f1… it just vibed with me so well.

[@lloyd9819]

This same thing happened with Car Throttle in the UK. 3 channels split off from one. And now all 3 and way more successful than the original channel that's still running.

[@AlanisKing]

People love following individuals, often more so than brands. It'll be interesting to see if and how that changes as more individuals break off

[@saltylelele]

@@AlanisKing I'd say that is def a part of it. People were not really loyal to CT, they were to Alex, Edwin, Ethan and Jack. Ever since Ethan, Jack and Edwin quit CT's socials have been on fire (in the bad way), and the new stuff CT is doing is not really working, bc no one cares about the new hosts and formats.

[@d4fs4]

Had been following CT for a while.. when Alex left I kept watching the Edwin/Jack/Ethan videos when they did some.. now that they left too I haven't looked at a single new videos from CT.. The content from the three new channels is so great thou! Wondering if the same thing will happen with Donut and eventually the older staff will all be dragged away from Donut.. besides.. where the hell is James Pumphrey?

[@lloyd9819]

@@AlanisKing I totally agree they missed the mark on what exactly their audience were loyal too. And that fact that loyalty works both ways. It's I'll keep your audience coming back but if you mistreat what they are loyal to then you become the enemy. It's happening in repeat it seems.

[@darkblader06]

The biggest issue I have with the viewership and userbase, is they run around screaming the sky is falling, but what they dont realize is these media/tech/gaming companies saw a unrealistic growth during the pandemic. So alot of these companies arent imploding, theyre just shrinking back to a realistic growth rate.

[@AlanisKing]

You’re exactly right

[@bonkman6463]

its been three years though (nearly four) since it ended. I'd say the biggest factor is not being aware about corporations. people did point out that they didn't like it so much for a good while, but once it was revealed that it was bought out years ago then people started leaving. I was mostly fine for a while since the hosts were there (I was mainly there for wheelhouse though since it was the last thing out of the good shows left, d-list did continue but it was more focused on horsepower and acceleration than being weird and unique) and seemed to be themselves but later on I felt like they were not so enthusiastic about the content

[@areitu]

Glad to see you've started your own channel! I've been following your work in automotive for a while, looking forward to seeing more!

[@AlanisKing]

Ahhh thank you! We take a lot of pride in our car reviews

[@sickpunch1]

"Donut got sold" "Hoonigan got sold" Who did the selling? The repercussions were obvious.

[@cabobs2000]

All depends on if they were paid cash or stock. The stock is worthless. Cash is cool though. You stay on for a bit and make your own YT channel and start over.

[@Fanta....]

Sometimes the offer is too good to refuse. Take the money and start a new channel.

[@stonehorn4641]

I mean, it doesn’t matter who sold it, they owned it and had a right to take the money.

[@Bimmer_MD]

​@@Fanta.... Linus didn't sell out LTT, I think that he was offered 10 figures too

[@michaelfrock2473]

@@Bimmer_MD10 figures is hard to pass up unless you know you can make that within a certain amount of time.

[@WindyFeet]

Alanis-NEVER turn your back on a Viper...it's trying to kill you!

[@AlanisKing]

So true

[@salt-emoji]

It's domesticated

[@Shiinamusiclyricssubs]

this viper looks uhhhh a bit oriental doesn't it

[@jonlosito2004]

I thought that was the NB Miata 😂😂

[@skuzzyj]

​@@jonlosito2004 Lowercase viper

[@aguruattapiano]

I love the Dodge Viper in the back

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you. Love our Viper

[@zxggwrt]

😂

[@chainringcalf]

Always the answer

[@LanceCorporal_Waffles]

😐🤣

[@BboyVReck]

Dang! I thought it was an S2000!

[@Justus4Libertea]

Thank you giving your resumé at the start so your biases are upfront. Many ppl hide there bias and there material shows why Great video! My 2 fav ppl on Donut left and I felt that was a statement when 2 most ppl associate with Donut left AT THE SAME TIME. It's a sign

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you so much 🤠 glad you liked the video!

[@lollypoofy]

Good work! Hope to see yall grow to 100k, 300k, 500k like many more before you! ❤

[@lollypoofy]

Subbed

[@AlanisKing]

This is so kind of you. Truly. Thank you for your support ❤️

[@amigodesigns]

I'm really tired of corporate greed seriously, they are destroying everything they touch, every company no matter the field, it's incredible.

[@AlanisKing]

It’s hard! It’s really sad when things we love go away because of it

[@daltoncampbell7579]

This is why MightyCarMods will forever be the best.

[@GTSW1FT]

Another good channel is gears and gasoline. But gotta love the og's that MCM are.

[@MrJebneh]

MCM ✊️

[@BlackPeter203]

I can't remember the last time I watched MCM, I'm not enjoying it as much in the "new" garage. I've watched since they were in the driveway (Marty's mom?)

[@daltoncampbell7579]

@@BlackPeter203 there was a point in time I strayed away from there videos but I came back loving it even more.

[@BlackPeter203]

@@daltoncampbell7579 I guess I'll try them again.

[@Pseedholm]

There have been quite a few videos on this topic already, but you somehow managed to put a new spin on the info, AND provide even more information that as an audience we may not have been able to quite grasp. As an aside: why did you leave cars and bids? Up until recently, yours and Doug’s were the only watchable videos.

[@AlanisKing]

Awww thanks for asking, and thank you for saying this. I hate to keep secrets, but that's one of those things I actually can't talk about : )

[@fasterdanu1]

Yes, they had great on screen chemistry.

[@AlanisKing]

@@fasterdanu1 It was so fun to do those videos!

[@claudyla]

​@@AlanisKing I've missed you on cars and bids. So glad I randomly discovered your own channel through this video! Instant sub and will be watching your existing videos

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you so much for saying you’ll watch older videos too. It means a lot

[@knote4958]

Selling a business to private equity is like selling a functional car to a scrapyard. They'll milk what use they can out of it then gut it for parts. Too often businesses and brands get sold when they can still be turned around, like that same car being sent to scrap just because it has a bad alternator

[@AlanisKing]

😞

[@luislongoria6621]

When everyone is making big power with Chinese turbos, how long does it take for the penny pinching OEMs to follow suit with more EcoBombs. It's Ford vs Ferrari until Ford turns into Ferrari 😢

[@JamesFaction]

James Pumphrey has a new channel up too. Speeed. First vid hits you right in the feels.

[@AlanisKing]

We also watched it pretty soon after it went up, yeah!

[@cinthe3]

Thanks for the deep dive! Stay safe "legally". Don't want this channel to go away.

[@AlanisKing]

You bet. Thank you always 🤠

[@ViewtifulTj]

It seems like it's a really really straight foward analysis here. When Private equity firms get involved in anything creative, their (the firms that is) only goal is maximizing profits and cutting losses. Operating with anything less than a growing business model is a failure to them

[@AlanisKing]

Yep! Except the growth needs to be huge

[@BYLRPhil]

Petrolicious is another channel that got ruined by big media. I loved their stuff…

[@AlanisKing]

The individual-creator landscape will be so interesting as people from these places do their own thing

[@horvathr95]

Iirc it was ruined by its owner's somewhat controversial views

[@nandakrishnakesavapuram5758]

It was ruined by Behnia (the founder) being a bigot and being (according to Matt Farrah) very shitty to employees/contractors

[@thiswillprobhrt]

I was under the impression that Petroliciuous sunk themselves, rather than being bought out?

[@tim3172]

@@thiswillprobhrt Petrolicious was acquired by Propulsion Media. Afshin Behnia being a braindead MAGAt (redundant) led to them being in a vulnerable financial position when they were acquired.

[@rockerboxghoul9560]

Thank you! Subscribed just for your honesty

[@AlanisKing]

Ahhhh thank you so much!

[@AloneRacecar]

Hopefully what’s been going on lately is a cautionary tale for us content creators of the future. Especially when it comes to entrepreneurship opportunities with people we decide to work with.

[@AlanisKing]

You’re right! I hope so

[@AloneRacecar]

@@AlanisKing For sure. 👍

[@cherrypickingyt]

As a miniature channel myself, who is a tiny crumb in a world of 3 course meals, one concern I have, not only for myself, but others, is over-saturation. The one thing that always happens when larger channels with a group of people split into their own channels, instead of 1 channel, it becomes 3-6 different ones. Over the course of time, this means more and more people to subscribe to, videos to watch, and overall a build up of extreme saturation, which leaves viewers burnt out. This causes an effect where viewers will purge the channels they subscribe to, or outright stop watching. Content is king, but this has happened in the past, and my concern is now I don't have enough time to watch all of it, so I have to pick and choose, or even sometimes, go to something else altogether. I might be alone in this line of thinking, but it has happened in the Food and Gaming spaces of KZbin a few years ago. Although Automotive content is Niche, and even within that niche is more niches, it is probably one of the most saturated forms of content available on KZbin, hence why channels like Cleetus and even Bigtime have been on the Trending pages multiple times. KZbin is the only spot for car content, as it suits the format better than any other. Great video, happy to hear you are doing your own thing. Good luck!

[@AlanisKing]

You’re so right. This is a great breakdown. Thank you for watching and adding your opinion!

[@nunezale]

I totally get what you're saying. Years ago I consistently watched every Game Theory and Binging with Babish video that was posted, and eventually when they grew so large to the point of new hosts and different content/spinoff channels it became overwhelming to keep up with what I originally enjoyed.

[@rossfortini1856]

Alanis, this type of long(ish) form deep-dive, with frank and informative content is *exactly* what I personally connect with. Your respectful-but-honest explanation of the situation with Donut and others taught me more about the industry in 17 minutes than I thought I'd *ever* understand. Thank you and--most importantly for you at this stage--SUBSCRIBED. Best of luck to you, your hubby, and your channel!

[@AlanisKing]

Ahhhh I'm so honored. Thank you so much. I'll try to do more of this when the opportunity arises - I love just sitting down and talking to y'all in the video and comments!

[@AarmOZ84]

Thanks for sharing what happens behind the camera of our favorite KZbin channels. I love the independent car channels, but a few big commercial ones like Hagerty’s always impressed me. I think that it does come down to whether the big media company understands car culture as much as they understand business strategy.

[@AlanisKing]

Totally agree. Thanks for watching : )

[@usmcplu]

I'm just giving Sarah 'N Tuned a shoutout. She refuses to be bought, or advertise anything (even to a fault). She's one of the best content creators with fun projects, excellent taste, and extremely meticulous attention to detail and cleanliness. Her humor is top notch and material is never tiring. Of all the automotive KZbinr's, her channel and episodes have never been felt repetitive. I hope she sees continued success.

[@AlanisKing]

Hell yeah!

[@joshmerrick4716]

We saw the same thing in the UK with car throttle when Alex left due to creative differences with the investment company that bought the channel. He stated his own channel and not long after he did, pretty much every other presenter, camera operator and script writer either followed him or left to start their own channel too. Its sad to begin with because it feels like the end of an era but when each member goes off and starts their own thing what you end up up with is 3, 4 or even 5 new places to go for videos of the people you enjoy watching. So in the end you’ve still got the same sort of content to watch but more sources to get it from and more frequently. Its a win win

[@Sethhall618]

I love your videos so much! They're so refined, polished, and professional even in these side videos. You deserve so many more subs!

[@AlanisKing]

Wow. Thank you so much. Appreciate you for watching and caring

[@andrewbaskett8581]

This was a great video, as usual. Man, I miss the F1 podcast. Would be awesome to hear you and Elizabeth do the occasional chat after some big incident race like Austria this past weekend. Miss you on Cars and Bids stuff as well. Keep it up!

[@AlanisKing]

Awwww thank you so much. I miss it a ton too

[@driverpsyche]

@@AlanisKing can't you do a vodcast with Elizabeth and publish it here? I loved your format - DRS was such an easy thing to digest after every race.

[@whydoineedahandle269]

RIP Ken Block. He was an icon of our generation.

[@AlanisKing]

Such a kind guy too. I interviewed him when I was like 18, and he gave me as much time and attention as I needed. Legend

[@quattrocam]

Really interesting time in the niche, great to see some of the biggest names breaking out and focusing on what makes them and the viewers happy!

[@phee3D]

this is a surprisingly engaging video, well formatted and well presented. No random music and not overly edited. Maybe you should do this kind of thing whenever something interesting happens in the industry or any industry you might have knowledge about.

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you for watching! We plan on doing it more with news events

[@daveamirault]

I'm glad you now have your own channel, Alanis. Keep the good stuff coming!

[@AlanisKing]

Awwww thank you so much. I appreciate it

[@travis79109]

Heavy but much needed content. Glad you shared it.

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you so much!

[@jamesdrummond7684]

this is about the sixth different channel i've seen cover it. all the exact same information. free money and the chance to piggyback larger channels regardless of whether it needed to be covered AGAIN is free money, I guess.

[@keithmcdonnell4485]

The donut controversy is what brought me to this video, I gave it a like and this comment to help your engagement. Good luck with the channel. I noticed the change in Donut on a subconscious level, I am bored to tears with the listicle episodes and really miss the good stuff like money pit.

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you so much for caring! 🤠

[@Mreverydaythings]

Same here, had never heard of her channel before but this video will definitely have me coming back for more content, definitely a informative video

[@LesPauloCaster]

A fascinating explanation by an insider. KZbin kept pushing this video for the past 3 days, and I finally clicked. The algorithm works sometimes… New subscriber!

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you for watching : )

[@bobboy5508]

I find myself smiling ear to ear watching Cletus’s videos. So he keeps doing something right. And the variety of things he’s into really hit with me. Dude flys planes, helicopters, RC planes, drives jet boats, creates 6 second drag cars. The list goes on. Nothing gets stale. And like mentioned he treats everybody well, from employees to viewers. His giveaways are great and his interactions with them are genuine.i bought a shirt just see if i could win a set of tires. In the same giveaway though was a choice between 2 turbos or a set of tires. He called each one and was cool as hell to them and got their choice. Anyhow< he’s one that just makes you smile and probably will for a long time.

[@AlanisKing]

I watched that giveaway one! People were so excited

[@Gearbhall]

Unfortunately with private investing across all industries the investors always expect growth and growth is not always sustainable. This results in cut corners and layoffs to artificially show growth by reducing costs, and I think new media in particular collapses immediately when you take out what made it work in the first place.

[@AlanisKing]

You’re exactly right

[@ChrisSmith-of1ob]

a few years ago, I knew nothing about F1. DTS got me intrigued. DRS got me obsessed. I was super bummed when it was canceled. I always appreciate your takes Alanis.

[@AlanisKing]

Me too : ( thank you so much. I’m glad it had an impact

[@zxggwrt]

Thank you for this it’s really appreciated. I’m a big watcher of KZbin car channels and it all started with jalopnik. I can imagine any popular channel I like being sold if the top creator died. For instance, if Cleetus crashes his plane or Westin Champlain doesn’t wear his seatbelt and goes through a windshield. It’s bound to happen and in that case their families can sell to a company and retire. They kill the channel but at least they get something.

[@ian3580]

I just want to say that I like your editing, and that you sound is ON POINT. No weird noises, echo, etc.....nicely done video.

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you 🤠 We really try to have good mics!

[@josiahmanson]

Very insightful and well spoken. Nice video! I hope your channel does well and becomes sustainable soon.

[@AlanisKing]

Thanks so much, Josiah : )

[@lacko0819]

Thanks for providing these insights!! Very useful indeed! (I also love your Miata in the background!)

[@AlanisKing]

Ahhhh thank you! We love it too

[@benqu88]

0:08 "15 million subscribers each" - Donut currently has a little less than 9 million subscribers, Hoonigan 5,7 million. This is such a simple thing to check, it's almost like you did it on purpose.

[@AlanisKing]

The script said combined, and I think I did as well. I’d check if I weren’t in bed responding to your comment to show that I care

[@benqu88]

@@AlanisKing Yes, sorry. Could have figured that it was a mistake and meant as combined.

[@freezinginferno2106]

@@AlanisKingyou said each

[@iGame2A]

KZbin is pretty much Cable TV now. Ads getting shoved down our throat and only content that the marketing team deems suitable get created. The reason KZbin got big was because it was nothing like Cable TV.

[@abruptlyblunt]

@ 20 minutes ago i didn't know you existed and only chose the video because i was interested in the subject matter, which BTW was very well presented, BUT while watching the video something strange happened, i couldn't stop looking at the name of your channel which wasn't a pseudonym or a moniker or some slick play on words, it was your name or more importantly your last name which coincidentally is my last name and bizarrely in seeing our family's name being so proudly displayed in a KZbin channel i found myself not only feeling a strange sense of pride but also feel‌ing an overwhelming need to subscribe as a way to show support for family and who knows we could be family in some distant way. since i just found you it's going to take a minute to catch up on your videos and i will but for from what I've seen so far i feel the need to say "way to make the family proud, good job cuz!!!!"

[@AlanisKing]

This made me smile a lot. Truly. Thank you so much, cuz. Hope you love the videos

[@TheMcesar84]

I've been watching car reviews on YT for years now and never found myself overly intrigued by the content on these "mainstream" outlets. Savagegeese and The Topher are my typical go tos for new car info. RCR and Curious Cars always guaruntee a few good laughs. I first saw Alanis on Doug's channel and actually just came across her channel today. I think she's doing a great job so far by taking what components work best from other channels while still incorporating plenty of her unique and refreshing personality into the equation. Keep it up!

[@AlanisKing]

Awwww this means a lot. Thank you!

[@mekg5430]

Thank you for breaking down the pros and cons of investment firms buying media companies! Your personal experience is a good example of what happens when a big company restricts your creative freedom. I'm always looking forward to you releasing new videos!

[@AlanisKing]

Awww thank you so much

[@vasantos-re4hb]

AK - Top Gear met the same fate when Clarkson left. Real talk - people need to remember that people like Clarkson are master storytellers. He has real talent. And that talent will rise again in another format. Don't believe me? Watch Clarkson's farm. I've learned more watching him, that I ever would in a classroom.

[@AlanisKing]

Ooooh I haven’t watched actually but will

[@Slizzo82]

@@AlanisKing it's so good. I thought it was going to be a dumb scripted cringe show but it doesn't appear to Be, and Jeremy looks like he really cares about learning how to farm and shows real concern for his fellow farmers as well. It's a great watch!

[@AlanisKing]

@@Slizzo82 Fascinating. I'll check it out for sure

[@deepakagarwal3408]

I really enjoyed DRS. Thanks for shedding more light on the industry.

[@AlanisKing]

Really appreciate that you listened. Thank you!

[@internetsguy3506]

KZbin was built for creator content not for corporate replacement of cable TV profit loss. I watched Donut in spite of the fact that I knew it was a big entity because of awesome personalities but when those personalities started having their creative input sidelined it was obvious and took the fun out of it. It's just not sustainable to have 15m viewers on a channel with so many moving parts. I'm excited to see all the personalities and people that helped build those channels move on to provide what the viewers actually want.

[@pxpbxb5743]

Your honesty and transparency earned you a subscriber

[@AlanisKing]

Aw! Thank you 🤠

[@WillyWonka2414]

I didnt know you had a youtube channel of your own! Instant sub

[@AlanisKing]

Ahhhh thank you so much! We try to make really top-tier car reviews

[@Shiinamusiclyricssubs]

I think the best way I can describe this is that big youtube channels are increasingly "mr.beastified". Donut is basically just mr beast videos about cars. Instead of "i gave children 100000$ if they stay in a cube" it's "I gave grown man a car if they complete this trail"

[@AlanisKing]

So fair

[@ernstbergerbrent]

Shareholders are the worst thing to happen to private businesses. Their purpose shifts from their founding ethos to profit.

[@chadbledsoe2416]

Great video. Very informative for those is us who are not in your industry. I clicked on it, because I've been clicking on anything recently with Bigtime in the title (which I realized this doesn't have, but indirectly references it). You are right, they (Bigtime) got back to why I started watching Donut. Donut stopped doing things like Money Pit, so I left. Liked and subscribed to your channel. Look forward to seeing your content.

[@AlanisKing]

Appreciate this so much. Thank you, Chad

[@tedturner2966]

I strive for this level of skill and clarity in communicating. Incredibly thoughtful and well-written/delivered.

[@AlanisKing]

Wow. Thank you so much

[@garyleibitzke4166]

Like you got axed from "Cars & Bids" ? I'm still pissed off about that.

[@AlanisKing]

[@lacko0819]

omg dont even get started...

[@Mr-pn2eh]

She didn't get axed

[@NorthwestMobileDetailing]

@@Mr-pn2ehwhat happened?

[@AlanisKing]

@@Mr-pn2eh I did!

[@carsinruin6102]

Im not an automotive youtuber but i've been part of smaller companies that were acquired by larger firms. The heart and soul of smaller outfits is always lost as the larger corporation tries create homogeneity among its brands. The employees become frustrated as outside forces that are often no where near the actual company and not directly familiar with the day operations try to make decisions.

[@AlanisKing]

You’re so right. It’s very similar

[@GrainGrown]

@@carsinruin6102 *I'm *I've *(double spaces) "homogeneity"? *nowhere ... Keep learning English, kiddo.

[@carsinruin6102]

@@GrainGrownyou're a sad person.

[@beautifulcatastrophe]

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain

[@AlanisKing]

🫡🫡🫡

[@beautifulcatastrophe]

​@@AlanisKing 🖖🏻

[@luislongoria6621]

Palestine much? Who needs money when you're playing the short game?

[@noahcallaway7574]

Hey, so I just wanted to say when I clicked on this video I fully expected this video to be some generic video going over the rise and fall of Donut and Hooligan. I was pleasantly surprised by your well informed take on this topic. You are very knowledgeable about this space, the medium, and you are a very good communicator. You just earned a subscriber and I am looking forward to checking out your other content! Thank you!

[@AlanisKing]

Omg! This made me smile so much, Noah. Thank you for saying it

[@sebastianochs7603]

Thanks to all of this, I found out you have your own channel! ! only ever knew you as a feature on many channels I watched and I loved listening to DRS every now and again. You introduced me to the term "racer-bot" which I use regularly now. I even bought Racing with Rich Energy! (Which sadly never arrived here in Germany) Glad I found your channel!

[@AlanisKing]

Omg! I’m so sorry it never arrived. We had a different company sending them out internationally. Did you get your money back? If not, feel free to email me at [e-mail] and I’ll get you sorted

[@sebastianochs7603]

@@AlanisKing No, I didn't get my money back, cause it probably got lost somewhere and since it's not your mistake it shouldn't be your burden either. Either way, I just wanted to share that I'm glad I found your channel!

[@AlanisKing]

If you send me an email, I’ll at least give you a free electronic copy ❤️ it’s literally the least I can do

[@BrandonBB4]

I miss you over at Cars and Bids!

[@AlanisKing]

Sorry that I just disappeared : ( I’m on this channel every week, of course!

[@robinjack3531]

Thanks for the explainer Alanis. Good to get an insiders perspective. Keep up the great work and stay smiley

[@CromulentCorpse]

Instead of hearing from this walking annoyance, you can hear it straight from the horses mouths. They made their own video on their new channel

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you so much : )

[@Charlemagne89]

Enshittification. Investors. Capitalism. These things ruin every art medium we love. But it's hard to resist a buyout. Focusing on growth over content leads to this. Users and viewers don't care about how much you grow this year or next, they care about the quality of the content. Creators love the create, and the viewers love to consume. Big dollar signs from investors and PE ruin this dynamic, sooner or later. It's sad. And then the founders leave and the cycle repeats.

[@AlanisKing]

You got it! It's really sad

[@cKerensky]

Well, you've got a new subscriber. I love informative information like this!

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you 🤠 We try really hard to post cool informational videos and really polished car reviews. I hope you love them!

[@RickyHarline]

Wow, you're very smart and an excellent writer, speaker, and communicator-- I'm very impressed. Subscribed.

[@AlanisKing]

Wow! Thank you so much 🤠 hope you love the car reviews!

[@Sonnell]

60k for a low low position? 95% of the worlds population could never dream of such a high salary... Wow the world is torn apart...

[@AlanisKing]

Yes! At the time (and now) we worked in media in high-cost areas of America. I’m not passing an opinion on the salary; I’m just telling you that it’s what I made for the lowest position at my company

[@redtandem8483]

Cost of living in southern CA is way higher than 95+% of the world

[@16vSciroccoboi]

And that 60k is good for a tiny apartment if you're lucky and eating top ramen every meal in the places these people lived

[@tim3172]

Derp, you have *ZERO* idea how expensive it is to live and work in LA.

[@madalinaursu7076]

​​@@tim3172how dafuq you can complain about that? Come to my country to see the real expensive places US typical complaining,60k per mounth? Gosh,you have any idea how many people are homeless and you shits complain about 60k? People are dumber ams dumber every day If its too expensive,get another house in another place,simple as that.....repeat 60k

[@thegunslinginghero]

Your content seems very informative, not for me though. I don't need to see new car reviews when I can't even afford an old POS car. The jealousy will run to strong and I don't need that in my life.

[@AlanisKing]

I’m not offended!

[@carefullin]

Why you left Cars and bids?

[@AlanisKing]

That’s one of those I can’t discuss. I’m really sorry!

[@roboslug]

@@AlanisKingI’m so curious too but it is what it is. Hope it isn’t a bad relationship breaking thing.

[@AlanisKing]

@@roboslug Not at all! No editorial disagreements

[@chriskugel6451]

Thanks for explaining Alanis! I subscribed!!!

[@AlanisKing]

Thanks for watching 🤠

[@MetalGamer666]

I would be terrified of being self employed or a contract worker in the US. What do you do if you get sick or injured and can't work, and have to pay huge medical bills?

[@AlanisKing]

It's a huge risk unless you do marketplace insurance, which is extremely expensive. A friend of mine said it's like $2,000 a month for him

[@MetalGamer666]

@@AlanisKing Yikes, that's probably most of your income when you're starting out, if not more. And the problem with insurance is that if you have to use it, the premium usually goes up. And there are always loop holes so they don't have to pay (case in point, Coffeezilla when he got sued by Logan Paul).

[@darkmage728]

PE always doing their pump and dump at the expense of longevity of the company and its employees

[@lapinlogic6267]

"Make a successful video" is the killer of a channel when the channel is ALREADY making successful videos

[@Kimsey47]

Yep, I abandoned Jalopnik and never looked back after they changed. They also started hiring creators that placed political views and I wasn't going there to see that crap, I was going for the auto content. If I want politics I'll go to a regular news site.

[@APWare]

Spot on. Came here to say the same thing.

[@PocketDrummer]

To be fair, donut went downhill about when they did a hit piece on Subaru. Thousands of people track the WRX without blowing up three engines, and anyone who's ever owned one or even perused Subaru forums for a day will tell you a lot of the parts they put on them made no sense or were literally made the car worse. I unsubscribed after that, and I can't trust any of them anymore.

[@Hpotatojack]

Informative banger! I had a feeling you were going to have great insight and an even better way of explaining things for us common folk. Keep it up, A King 👑

[@AlanisKing]

Awwww thank you 🤠

[@adhilmehmud8171]

Join bigtime

[@AlanisKing]

Hahaha I’m in Texas, so we’re not near each other!

[@andredeketeleastutecomplex]

No! They should have used their imagination before becoming sellouts.

[@CarsSimplified]

Great explanation! While this shift I think is for the better, I can only imagine the investors may just see things as "channels are going to be more expensive to buy now" if up-and-coming channels turn down offers that would normally be enough, and those bigger offers may in turn work and require even bigger expectations. Hopefully that doesn't happen, since it's likely nobody wins in that scenario.

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you so much 🤠 I appreciate you watching

[@Sainte305]

Donut just isn't interesting anymore, nor is it authentic. It feels big budget, which is not what attracted people like me. I haven't enjoyed a Donut video in more than a year at this point. Half the time I just skim through the video to get to the end.

[@cigarjefe]

Big Time is a testament that the audience is king.

[@RetroCarsForever]

Fascinating insight, as someone who has a decently-successful (for a one man band) automotive KZbin channel, and who's worked in media companies before and seen this very thing happen again and again. One would hope that SOMEONE with money will start paying attention and not want history to keep repeating itself with these investment firm takeovers. Audiences just aren't "sticky" like they once were, they'll leave as soon as they're not happy (or when there's bad press). Best of luck with your channel! Loved reading your output through the years.

[@AlanisKing]

Thank you so much for watching. I really appreciate it. I wish you the best of luck on your channel too!