YouTube Has Become Pay To Win

KZbin has become pay-to-win. All of the top creators have several editors, scriptwriters, cameramen, and thumbnail artists. At this point, channels like Marques Brownlee and MrBeast are essentially full-on production studios as opposed to individually run channels. And with time, it seems that the gap between what creators used to be vs the production companies that dominate KZbin today is simply getting larger and larger. While this is a shame as it destroys the authenticity of KZbin, it’s not all that surprising. In virtually every other media industry, the biggest successes are usually the ones with the best production quality. In the movie industry, Marvel, Avatar, and Disney dominate the leaderboards. In the gaming industry, GTA dominates the leaderboards. And in the TV industry, the best shows like Stranger Things often have ridiculous budgets. This isn’t to say that there aren’t exceptions to this trend, but that’s what they are: exceptions. This video explains how KZbin slowly trended towards becoming more like traditional media and became pay-to-win.
Earn Interest From The Government & Top Corporations:
(iOS App for US Residents)
www.silomarkets.com/waiting-l...
Free Weekly Newsletter With Insiders:
logicallyanswered.substack.com/
Socials:
/ hariharan.jayakumar
Discord Community:
/ discord
Timestamps:
0:00 - The State Of KZbin
2:14 - Creators Get Squeezed
6:13 - Audiences Evolve
9:10 - KZbin Adapts
12:38 - The Future Of KZbin
Resources:
pastebin.com/j0KYWR5y
Disclaimer:
This video is not a solicitation or personal financial advice. All investing involves risk. Please do your own research.
www.silomarkets.com/disclosures

[@BurrritoYT]

"Never EVER piss off the people on Twitter" totally feasible task

[@LogicallyAnswered]

😂

[@useodyseeorbitchute9450]

Varies. Are you playing fighting for mass audience and big sponsorship, or are you aiming at niche where "Blue Checkmark" is effectively a slur? Especially with saturation of bland content, this choice is not that obvious.

[@youtubestudiosucks978]

Well duh, i can aim the direction i'm pissing. I wont miss

[@markgutierez9922]

Twitter is a content regulator. Any one steps out of line will be mercilessly executed.

[@markgutierez9922]

@@youtubestudiosucks978 I think I light wide spread should allow for a more efficient coverage for large groups.

[@shivadarling18]

I'm on KZbin to get away from TV-like productions. I just want an honest, down-to-earth guy talk about something I'm interested in.

[@neanda]

same 👍high production quality usually puts me off as they seem to rely on it too much to cover their basic content, and i also don't always watch the video, usually listen to it while i have music in the background and working on my designs (just like i did with this video 😂 it's why i prefer if they don't have music in the background. i hope that YT has an option in the future for creators to upload with a separate channel for background music that we can turn off as most bg music is just to fill in rather than support the video

[@GloriousGrunt]

same here - and gameplay without obnoxious voice-overs 😆

[@altrag]

Many of those "down-to-earth guys" have $10,000 cameras and $1500 microphones and other high-end equipment. They might not have a full editing and studio team like Mr. Beast, but they've still invested a significant amount in order to turn their channel into a business. The actual little guys still recording with their cell phone propped up against a book or have a $100 webcam with a $15 boom mic.. that's the kind of people this video is talking about when they say "low production quality".

[@musthaf9]

I started watching KZbin because it has many good documentaries that is simply rarely aired in TVs in my country. The fact that then there's no ads, is another great plus. But since ads appeared in KZbin, well, it simply became like just another TV for me. But I'm okay because, hey, at least I got waaaayyyy more options and can watch anytime

[@Smith.S.sStocHasticSs]

yeah, someone keeps creeping in and taking over and ruininv everything thats good. its gotta stop. and it will stop 🛑

[@darthfox45]

Make a video on why Tiktok makes nobody rich.

[@LogicallyAnswered]

Ooh, really interesting idea!

[@koketso_dithipe]

Co-ask.

[@BlackHoleQueen]

honestly idk why people think TikTok makes people money, it doesn’t.

[@heisenberg6142]

@@BlackHoleQueen Charlidamelio, Addison re, Bryce hall, Salt papi

[@jaymesss]

tiktok can make a TON of money if you direct people to another source. tiktok allows you to reach a huge audience for free, and promote something else. tiktok itself makes you next to nothing though, but by directing people somewhere else you can make $XXX,XXX your first year

[@Ralph2k20]

I and like many others who've been using KZbin for years, the algorithms dose shows you small creators, and I've learned to respect these suggestions because the small, suggested creators tend to be genuine.

[@alphabeta3528]

I genuinely surprised when a video about school training Nazi of something got recommended to me it was only like a few thousands view, the channel only have few subscriber too. Then it exploded

[@CatLover-23]

Yeah, I also like watching smaller Content Creators Mostly.. Agreed on Trusting them a bit more. I see the Genuine in A lot of them as well.. I've learned my lesson listening to the Bigger one's who are More Popular & Rich/Famous. Greed takes over as well as the Ego... I definitely see your point here.

[@xXJeReMiAhXx99]

@@CatLover-23 im confused why people do this. If small creators are more genuine and better just because they arent big yet why the preference for them? Youre admitting they are ultimately the same as the big ones.

[@izzymosley1970]

At this point it seems like the only way for a new KZbinr to get big on KZbin without having a lots of money is if they are either ridiculously lucky or ridiculously skilled.

[@LogicallyAnswered]

Yep exactly. Extraordinary amounts of skill, money, or luck :)

[@SpawkenToons]

Or willingness to do a bunch of dumb stunts on camera.

[@RBLPodcast]

sad but true lol

[@OnlyOozyJay]

Jus be lucky, rich, and skilled🤦🏾‍♂️ Ain't that hard I'm giving you cheat codes here

[@kenng5917]

​@@LogicallyAnswered It's 10% luck and 20% skill

[@MrMajani]

what's insane to me is how far monetization has come on KZbin. There were many people who tried high production content in the early days of KZbin, for example Video Game High School, but it fell flat because the ROI just wasn't there. Then they tried to push the high production content to KZbin Red and it still wasn't there. But guys like Mr. Beast and Dude Perfect found ways to go so insanely viral with their content that they could sustainably do huge budget productions

[@LogicallyAnswered]

Ah yeah, smart observation

[@Terminal_Apotos]

Merchandise aswell, only around a Few Years ago KZbinrs would at most do some Clothing but nowadays it’s Clothing, Plushes, Channel Memberships, Patreons, Superthanks, freakin Restaurants. Crazy how many ways KZbinrs have managed to suck every penny out of their audience.

[@karambiatos]

@@Terminal_Apotos always wonder what kind of idiot buys youtuber merch considering how insanely inflated the prices are 50dollars for a shitty T-shirt haha

[@ArmanZaidi]

video game high school is definitely one of the greatest webseries of all time

[@estuardo2985]

I don't know who "dude perfect" is but Mr. Beast, who I don't watch but have scene some clips, basically spews forth low brow content for the masses. It is the same reality drivel TV that MTV (see "real world") pioneered. It is also like all the formulaic awful reality programming that Andy Cohen produces. Unfortunately, most people have awful taste. And it doesn't help that in the early (earlier) days of the internet a more elite group of people were on. Now it is a small sliver that isn't. There is far more content and interaction but it doesn't make it good.

[@greenwoodlakehana]

even when I try to find authentic, small KZbinrs the search results never show me what I want. I have to dig and use keywords in order to find genuine, small channel content. big media and ads have ruined KZbin

[@HK47_115]

Same. I'm getting tired of being recommended corporate channels. Having to play the synonym game with the search bar.

[@astrahcat1212]

@@HK47_115 Same here!

[@klaustrussel]

Absolutely true, for musicians like myself is difficult even getting to 100 subs without constantly pushing new music/being under a label (or pay to win using ads etc.)

[@logitfau252]

got it as example for my comment. If I want to search for example "acoustic cover of Song Xyz" there is no result list. You will see 5 Videos, normally from the already big pay2win channels, that are somewhat closer connected to my search terms, but after that you will not find results, but "others also watched" or "recommendaed for you based on your search input" and i can scroll there into infinity of pushed pay2win channels that the yt algorithm suggestes me based on wild associations to my search-input, like "Top5 best Guitar players!" Videos and other trash. But there is no way to show me more results to my original search input, and thus sadly i cant even find small youtube channels by accident anymore, i cant even find them on purpose if i search for their specific uploaded video, if the yt algorithm fever dream association can match it to the big players (e.g. acoustic guitar cover will become "Top5 crazy guitarists!" results) its so terrible

[@charlesbannerman106]

It's designed to keep you out while promoting advertiser friendly music. I wish we would stop pretending about this

[@logitfau252]

there a two main concerns for me atm: 1. the AI generated (and stolen) content - you know it started with reaction-channels, so channels where people steal other peoples work and stoped now and then for a "wow thats crazy" to make it a "new" original work of content. After that the autmatic generated minecraftgameplay-splitscreen-stolen-content shorts appeared, but its gotten more advanced. AI Voices now read altered wikipedia articles or articles from other people/websites around and generate pictures or apply maximum-filters to escape copyright algorithm on everything. There are channels, short after the top 1% (Mr beast etc) that make millions of millions just by either going for the "reaction" lane or straight up pure bot-web-crawling-upload scripts that occupy the tops as well, creating a real barrier for normal content creators to even get suggested, since this guys behind it are playing the suggestion alogrithm (via wording, bot farms etc.) like no other and thus occupying ur reccomendated video or short-video-feed like nothing else. Every second video is something like that. 2. The YT search algorithm and result display got worse. Once infinite scrolling replaced "page 2 search results" was the first step into yt hell. Now cou CANT EVEN FIND small youtube channels anymore, because after 3-5 videos somewhat related to your search terms, you will get NO MORE results, instead the "suggestion" part appears. For example, if i searched for a "acoustic guitar cover of not popular Song X", a few years ago, I got good results, i saw all the channels, small or big, who match my search-request. Now if I search for "Acoustic guitar cover of not popular Song X" i will get 5 results of the original band itself and then there is no further list, but "recommendation" videos loosly algorithmicly associated to my search terms filled with all the viral channels and videos that dominate YT like " Top 5 best guitar players" and other clickbait. And there is no option to change it and no option to enhance the "real" matches of the search-results, just the payed2win "Creators". Its like Google-search but after 3 "real" results" you will only see advertisments and you cant escape.

[@joebabbles3818]

Your point about infinite scrolling replacing "page 2 search results" and its effects is dead on! I've been becoming increasingly aware of this unfortunate change and you summed it up perfectly.

[@flowersnek1010]

I guess a part of what's driving the change in KZbin is just the maturing of the medium of videos. I've heard that, when they first launched, radio and TV were also hotbeds of experimental content and frequently used by small creators, but slowly grew more dominated by giant media corporations and became more sanitized, corporate, and "safe" as they grew. The same will probably happen to videos, and the trends outlined in this video could just be signs of that change being in progress.

[@LogicallyAnswered]

Yep, just becoming more and more like mainstream media

[@broadestsmiler]

@@LogicallyAnswered If KZbin was the successor to TV, what is the successor to KZbin?

[@Gaven7r]

@@broadestsmiler time will tell I supppose

[@HK47_115]

So it was inevitable.☹️

[@nithishkumar.r1423]

@@broadestsmilerMetaverse

[@DanielBMS]

9:32 You were so close! Blaming the algorithm has to be considered as there is no transparency to it. On the other hand we do have to blame the audience for rewarding over rated content. It is not simple. So many KZbinrs get this wrong and act like the algorithm is perfect when that can not be proven.

[@neoborneo07]

Just like Pewds said long ago. The era of You on youtube already gone. As for today the corporations taking over, be it small or big.

[@GaretZaugg]

Hari, your subject matter and presentation are always on point. I don't know how you put out such quality content so frequently. Mad props bro!

[@LogicallyAnswered]

Thank you so much Garet!

[@mijhaelandressamaniegomuno28]

@@LogicallyAnswered The plot twist is 'he' is a multimillionaire company that runs this channel and has full production team

[@unfortunatereport6545]

​@@mijhaelandressamaniegomuno28 he doesn't have a full production team. He's probably got 5 people though

[@thatradiogeek]

Before the possibility of monetization, people made videos for KZbin just to make videos for KZbin and didn't care about making a living from it. Keep that approach and I think you'll be fine.

[@charlesbannerman106]

It's apparent at this point that not ONLY is it pay to win. KZbin itself boosts specific creators such as mkbhd. Subscription numbers are fake as i had an alt account with no subscriptions that found itself subscribed to mkbhd and top movie trailers. There is lots of things going on behind the scenes as KZbin became more corporate and focused on advertiser revenue

[@altrag]

There was also the adpocolypse. That event killed a whole lot of niche channels that weren't "advertiser-friendly" and similarly puts a pretty hard limit to scale such niches can grow to this day. Patreon and embedded direct sponsorship spots help for those who can get their channel to middle-size and start drawing interest from people with money, but new creators don't have that so if they want any monetization at all they have to build a cookie-cutter channel, which can't really grow because they're competing with all the other channels that have been railroaded into the same spot, including many long-established ones. I don't know what KZbin can or could have done differently - advertisers are the source of their money as well, and while the scale of KZbin itself allows a certain amount of leverage at the end of the day its the people with the purse strings that make the rules. But nonetheless it was and in many ways still is a significant and highly disappointing blow to creativity across the platform.

[@kageisuke]

Speaking of high production quality to get viewers, these videos are great. You've slid into this new youtube ecosystem nicely.

[@DannerBanks]

I think this is only true if you are a "general" KZbinr. If you focus on a niche, some "small" KZbinrs are crushing it.

[@yoitzep]

I feel like this video is 50% true and 50% interpretation. Authenticity is still very helpful if it sets you apart from the rest and creates value. It is definitely true that in order to scale up, you need to invest. Because of the popularity of YT and other factors there are huge swaths of youtubers. In order to succeed you need to know or learn how to play the YT game, you need something that sets you videos apart from the others. If you do that, work hard and smart, you can still do that. Which is very difficult, and having/using money is certainly beneficial. Sidenote. Now I am wondering where the line is for something to be considered pay to win. I guess depending on where you put the line, you could be correct about yt being pay to win.

[@tommyhuffman7499]

Prefer the old KZbin 100%. Seriously considering canceling my subscription. The real issue for me is that they broke search. Many say that everyone finds their videos through recommendations, but no one ever mentions that KZbin forced this. If you search for a set of keywords, you'll probably get five results containing those words. Everything else will just be a recommendation that they consider relevant, which is often very much not relevant. It drives me insane.

[@fraufuchs9555]

Agreed! I hate KZbin search. Years ago you could find lots of videos about a subject, you could choose to watch the newest ones that usually were made by smaller channels. But now the only way you find smaller channels is if they get recommended to you, not to mention how hard it is now to find the information you need.

[@-FFFridge]

Here's a little trick for you - when searching, use the search filters to sort by date or by views, instead of by relevance. When you do that, you get more honest results and also less UI bloat from shorts.

[@HK47_115]

I don't even get that. They just give me a bunch of corporate news. I swear to God I wish it was a proper Channel block future. I would block every single corporate channel on this goddamn platform. I'm getting so sick and tired of being recommended corporate channels.

[@EugeniaLoli]

Exactly! I have the same problem! I can't stand recommendations, I want what I searched for!

[@blewcheez]

Similar to Instagram before Facebook took over and any business in general, when monopolized the ones bringing in the most money are getting pushed to the front and everyone else is forgotten.

[@CollinMichael]

You have to define “win” for KZbin. In 2020 I took youtube seriously and 2 years later went full time making around 40/50k a year. Being a middle class creator is possible and can be a huge win.

[@blahblah2779]

Shameless plug #spamcommentforclicks

[@loowyatt6463]

It is sad to see youtube change from a place where anyone could succed if they are creative. But its also good to see youtube competeing with streaming sites with high production content

[@Georg3e]

I know I won't succeed but that doesn't mean I won't stop trying

[@DanielBMS]

I have long hated most of the popular channels on KZbin so I don't think it is sad. I love KZbin, I always believed it will not last forever.

[@GeForceArena]

@@Georg3e Checked out your channel...Your content is alright but you need to work on your thumbnails and try to niche down on the content you do. Just my two cents

[@jordixboy]

If KZbin is just TV, why should I use TV Vs traditional TV. Same trash.

[@DanielBMS]

@@GeForceArena My channel is just for the heck of it. I am not running for AVGN.

[@antoinepageau8336]

I really miss old KZbin and I’ve noticed that some of the channels I follow are going through a phase. Questioning their future on the platform. The slice of pie is getting to be too thin.

[@mrgtmodernretrogamingtech6891]

"Broadcast Yourself" - KZbin, 2005 ... Good old days... =)

[@Screamer26]

Thats why I really think that if you remove money from MrBeast, he's literally boring

[@user-hb5by4kf5j]

I feel like the points outlined in the intro only apply to really large channels. Most of the creators I watch and are recommended to me are pretty small, and usually just someone talking to the camera. Sure, if you don't have a KZbin account and you just open the website it will be high production value content, but once you have a niche of videos you like to watch, smaller creators get recommended all the time. Like I watch a lot of basketball analysis videos, and I get suggestions for small creators in that space all the time, some of the best analysis I've seen has come from these channels with subscriber counts less than yours were even a few months ago. I think really it's about creating one timely video in your niche that appeals to wider audience based on something that is "hot" at the time. Once you hit the 100k subscriber mark, views tend to get pretty steady. And also channels like step back history or even half as interesting tend to express their opinions pretty plainly and have managed to maintain steady subscriber growth. Just like always on KZbin, I think it's about finding your niche and uploading regularly more than anything else, you just can't expect to get millions of subscribers, but I think that's more to do with the volume of good content on KZbin rather than the monetization format. TLDR: Creators who make good content in a niche they have expertise in can still do well and maintain a channel in the hundreds of thousands of subscribers, but like literally anything, very few people are going to get rich here.

[@astrahcat1212]

What I would do is create 7 separate channels, each with a different niche, and upload a different video for each day of the week for a few months. The one that does well, that's the channel you stick with.

[@ChavezDIY]

The golden years for the small creators are over on KZbin. The bar has been raised substantially, the platform is very saturated, and the ad revenue overall has been in decline as of this year. The climb to the top is a long haul for your average creator, but It's even harder for the creators that are coming from a working class socioeconomic status. The good news for the small creators is that we are expecting a recession in the last half of 2023 and it will shake things up. Keep in mind this is also the first recession that KZbinrs are dealing with and a lot of other KZbinrs will leave, quit, or decrease their production throughout this recession. This could be an opportunity for the lil guys. So don't give up my friends. Yes, its hard, no you're not going to get rich quick, but if you're passionate, patient, and persistent, you can reach your goals.

[@astrahcat1212]

An influencer is cheap advertising, it's a more feasible business strategy right now to create a product you can sell, save money at a job that will pay decently, and offer paid sponsorships and run ads for the said product. Never chase, never follow a gold rush or chase celebrity. If one got in on the ground floor there was opportunity, but same with Bitcoin, same with the housing market when it had low interest rates and lower prices in 2013. If it's too late, don't chase.

[@willissudweeks1050]

This was a dumb read. The recession won’t take out the big KZbinrs lol

[@ChavezDIY]

​@@willissudweeks1050 Never said "big KZbinrs" were going to be taken out by the recession. KZbinrs of all sizes will be affected by the recession (if and when it happens). I already see people that I follow being affected by this current economic slowdown. If you don't see opportunity when it knocks, then I can't help you lol.

[@watchdealer11]

This is actually quite problematic because Gen Z and Gen alpha has very warped views of money and what it's like to have money and spend money.

[@LogicallyAnswered]

True hahaha

[@SwitchMaxFX]

wtf is "gen alpha"???

[@watchdealer11]

@@SwitchMaxFX the generation after Gen Z Born after 2010

[@astrahcat1212]

They all need to get practical jobs but with UBI coming down the line society is doomed, they'll sell everything they have to be an influencer and have machines do everything for them, then one day the drones will turn on us all and wham, end of humanity.

[@JAYJWONDERKID]

I feel like there will be once that a vanilla youtuber hits the algorithm. They changed it to favor newer creators more often too. I hope some the raw, unfilitered genre of youtube becomes popular again.

[@AlexParkYT]

Seriously the amount of things that get censored even on try not to laugh stuff is dumb now.

[@ftffighter]

Thank god somebody spoke up about this! I love how KZbin is messing with your thumbs up counter and saying there's only 5k views and no comments... corruption.. you must be doing something right! Keep it up!

[@NeetCode]

There were actually some YTers 15 years (like AVGN and ArshaAsteraki) that gained popularity because of their production value set them apart. But yeah, things are becoming way to overedited nowadays.

[@guerrerosaurio]

KZbin made it harder in general to get big, lots of people have talents or ways of talking that will not get monetized by youtube, making people get into a "youtube friendly" character which there is many of rather than being them full selves which is what would make them unique.

[@Icanhazwhopper]

I'm not sure this really suggests being successful on youtube is harder than ever, depending on your definition of success. As youtube has grown, the top creators making the most money can definitely price out smaller creators, but that doesn't necessarily matter if there are more people watching youtube and more money going to creators as a whole. I generally don't really follow the top creators, and my impression is over the years youtube has broadened the scope of what kinds of content makes up a person's feed. Just because the top creators have been overtaken by the mainstream, doesn't necessarily mean smaller creators are having a worse time. I'm sure some are, but I feel like a lot of people have some pretty heavy nostalgia googles with youtube.

[@charlesbannerman106]

That's naive. Surely you can see new creators don't get recommended while these hand chosen ones do It was not this case in the beginning

[@Icanhazwhopper]

@@charlesbannerman106 That just hasn't been my experience, I wouldn't even know most of these creators if not for other people talking about them. I know the trending tab is theirs almost exclusively, but I don't go there.

[@smaragdchaos]

Idk about you, but I have a much harder time discovering new channels now than before, as recommendations favor the behemoths of youtube and the search engine has been nuked and rendered virtually useless

[@watchdealer11]

I generally agree with you about the algorithms but there is definitely throttling of certain political opinions that takes place on KZbin and Facebook😊

[@LogicallyAnswered]

Ah yeah, this is def true

[@monolith2001]

And I think that is part of the evolution. I remember back in 2014-2016 where it was at a fever pitch. I think many of these media companies decided that politics (and hence polarization) were not winning formulas and I agree. I look back at a lot of the content I watched back then (and even craved) and see it as poison today.

[@mjc0961]

Ha! I wish that was true. KZbin and Facebook are responsible for all the right wing rabbitholes people keep going down. I'm constantly having to delete videos from my watch history because KZbin treats them as a gateway to q-anon conspiracy BS. I watch a video about how to use calipers to measure things and the next thing I know my recommendations are filled with gun nuts talking about how to protect your home if the government invades. Had to delete the simple "how to use a tool" video from my watch history to make all the new garbage disappear. And this happens all the time. I don't know how KZbin keep connecting everything to this garbage, but I can say I wish they were throttling. I wish these lunatics were being silenced like they always claim they are. It would even be nice if KZbin and Facebook actually enforced their terms of use and started banning some of these people.

[@meeponinthbit3466]

It's likely less about throttling political material, and more about burying content that isn't monetizable, and the political stuff likely gets flagged as inflammatory/misinformational by its opposition, so gets demonitized.

[@ashleyashleym2969]

Ive always appreciated youtubers who put out high quality videos and even in old youtube, they existed, not in the same way, but they existed

[@deleted-something]

Also you should talk about the shady business of bots that mass produce videos for videos and people who outright steal videos, because I'm pretty sure google just doesn't know how to deal with them since they can probably make a bad enough image for youtube in the future to pull out some ad revenue.

[@rvfamilylife]

I prefer KZbin before they introduced Shorts. I feel the algorithm was manipulated too much in various ways to accommodate Shorts.

[@Oncopoda]

This guy pushes some of the most obnoxious propaganda on KZbin. "Poor people suck, and you shouldn't try to make it on KZbin because you'll fail". He also has NO idea how algorithms work. Yes, algorithms inherently have bias. If you upload a video and it gets 2 impressions and zero views, that's not a reflection of your content.

[@astabakman]

I love it how you talk about high production costs, as you show off your new production upgrade (7:50) I'm curious about your production cost. How much so you pay to win? I'm guessing that your alone in a home studio, but did you just hire a new video editor? Also do you have any writers or are you just on your own?

[@LogicallyAnswered]

Yeah for sure. I think transparency is key. I do all the scripting myself but I do have an editor. The normal videos on this channel cost $120. The higher production ones like this one cost $300. We also have a few in the pipeline with budgets of $2-3k. Hope the investment is worth it :)

[@StartingOut2021]

Always great tuning in to logically answered. Talk about an encouraging and discouraging revelation at the same time,😅😅😅 as a new content creator it pushes us to work harder and think around how our production quality should increase over time along with our creativity.

[@StarPlatinumV]

The fact that Logically Answered is made by a company tells you everything you need to know.

[@mr.normalguy69]

_"Do you prefer the old KZbin, or the new KZbin?"_ Bro, nothing beats the pre 2018 KZbin.

[@MixmstrStel]

I agree with most points brought up, and the struggle is definitely real :P I'm wondering how much Shorts were being pushed by KZbin to the point that they squeezed out long form content from smaller creators, if they did at all. That is, if you weren't doing shorts, you weren't getting as much visibility. If that's the case, I wonder if the pendulum will shift back to long form given TikTok's dominance.

[@GloriousGrunt]

my trending page shows 90% shorts :(

[@kennyalwaysdies1]

KZbin is becoming too censored and family friendly and I hate it

[@santoslkwjs4718]

For the spanish content of youtube, there’s just 1 big youtuber that spends lots of money to create videos, the rest just have, camera, microphone and PC

[@prashant_kissago]

I do not think the algorithm is a mirror of the audience psychology. There are videos that are well thought out and have original content, but since they are not "advertiser-friendly", they are not shown to larger audiences. Of course, the audience also appears to like cookie cutter content with high quality visuals, because I believe the audience to have either dumbed down to crass unoriginal ideas or have become consumer zombies who just keep on scrolling till they find the perfect clickable thumbnail, and I think the latter is the case, so your point still holds.

[@adammonroeproductions]

The algorithm is geared towards prioritizing engagement in order to maximize profits. TikTok, KZbin shorts, and ten-second attention spans are the inevitable result. This is every industry, this is Hollywood, and, don't get me wrong I hate Hollywood, but at least you occasionally get a producer shelling out money for prestige or passion projects. You don't really have that with KZbin...well, maybe Patreon, but at this point you'll be grinding for years making interesting, unique, or passionate content before you get enough subscribers to make it financially viable...

[@Itssssss_Jack]

This is a question I've gone back and forth on with my KZbin Channel. Where should you sit on the quality vs quality continuum? I suppose as volume increases, quality must increase to stand out. But at the same time, how many more views to you get from that additional 15 hours in the editing room. It's a difficult one. Great video, by the way!

[@rhythm7335]

C'mon man, youtube is still pretty authentic. MKBHD and MrBeast are probably the worst example of creators that aren't authentic; at least they offer some raw emotion and vulnerability. I'd argue that the loss of authenticity is on the docuseries side of things, where it seems like people are just picking topics to be pissed off at every day, never showing their face or any personal emotions/experiences, and just getting pissed off at random topics that have nothing to do with them.

[@tonytins]

Lately, there have been a lot of spam channels flooding KZbin that make it harder to tell the genuine from the high production.

[@Rohith_1709]

Christopher Nolan put it best "You die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villan".

[@lockout125]

KZbin turning into MSM is pure sadness. The idea of small creators and actual entertaining content compared to content machines is turning KZbin into another tv channel. I miss pre Google KZbin.

[@astrahcat1212]

If you view it as a conspiracy, you might see that was the goal all along 15 years ago.

[@XaifaxVT]

Given youtube's been verifiably caught stacking the deck in favor of certain creators and suppressing others, not even politically just plain 'small creators get hidden against these others', I'm gonna say you're ignoring some problems here in favor of focusing purely on production quality.

[@shugyosha7924]

What were they caught doing?

[@Sscc.]

Yeah what were they doing?

[@XaifaxVT]

@@shugyosha7924 This isn't comprehensive, but the ones I remember off the top of my head include affording big youtubers extra protections from stuff like copyright hits, more generous interpretations of TOS for content and subjects, and soft suppression of smaller channels in search for several days for certain events.

[@astrahcat1212]

It's true. 10 years ago I did song covers and got 100,000 per video consistently, totalling 3,000,000 views at one point, but then stopped, as I didn't want to be a cover artist. What was different back then? I got listed in the search. Also, KZbin wouldn't double list on the search engine. Then 5 years later, the top piano cover KZbinr would show up in 7 of the first 10 search results. This is when I knew KZbin was pretty dead for me.

[@Krishnendulaha]

Well KZbin still has more educational content other than crap tech reviews more than all the Udemy and Skillshare put together so that's something

[@RealLaone]

Probably have over 1000 subscriptions but only watch about 10 videos daily from about 15 creators. The best thing about them is how we've witnessed them grow over the years, and their growth they made sure to reinvest in their content to always give us quality. Used to enjoy reading The Verge articles and wait for their reviews, then I saw an MKBHD video on my timeline, I was skeptical to click but that 1 video caused me to never miss another upload from him by how well he covered content unbiased. This was when he was still doing thwm from his room in college but already he was all business with logos, intros, partnering with creators etc. So I don't think it's that they have an unfair advantage, they just take their content seriously. They know all it takes is just that 1 video to hook people so they perfect everything, something I think should be absorbed into hip hop, business and everything else, that every small detail matters and your reputation is always on the line.

[@silkyblack90]

Love the jersey club music breakdowns in the background behind the video lol

[@Shokisan1]

I have been thinking about this. My channel is a month old, and my focus is on the quality of my writing and uniqueness of my presentations, but the video production aspect of it is more challenging. I think the easiest way to do this is to make a team somehow, or delegate tasks. Doing it all solo takes a lot. And my stuff is very simple compared to really highly produced stuff. But just like I prefer the vibe of older video games with their charming look and feel, while I am repelled by most AAA titles, I think there will always be a place for lower production quality but with excellent content. It's like people who prefer original FF7 despite the outdated graphics, because you know what's up, lol. But yea, it seems obvious that high production high quality is the way. But doing that solo is more difficult. A great team is required.

[@DragonKingGaav]

The world sees and cares about success. It does take a a combination of luck and hard work to equal success regardless of the platform (KZbin, acting, music, business). Sadly, the reality is that it takes more and significantly more luck than hard work to equal real success. Unfortunately, most people don't understand this.

[@charlesbannerman106]

No it takes connections and being handpicked

[@astrahcat1212]

If you use traditional advertising and use influencers for paid sponsorships and have a good product, you can sell it and make money, it's a matter of raising the money to pay for ads and having an insanely good product or service in a possibly practical industry that has high demand. I don't know why people still want to be influencers, it pays low for most content creators and you shouldn't base your income on any luck based career and shouldn't chase gold rushes. If you work a legitimate high paying career you can save money, build wealth more practically over decades and you'll be the one hiring the influencers through paid sponsorships and they'll be shilling your product.

[@BethePandaGames]

I wouldnt say I miss the old youtube, what I miss was not having cancel culture.

[@peterfmodel]

The old utube creators are still out there, but like the old, pre-monetization days, it’s not a money factor and the viewer counts are as low as back in 2000. The change is caused by money.

[@josephmgift]

Your videos have high quality and surprisingly are always right.

[@kellersefi]

The theory is compelling and it's obviously true that high-production videos didn't use to exist on KZbin, but that doesn't mean there's no room for smaller and more authentic creators. Mr. Beast's channel is huge and it attracts a lot of attention from other creators, but it represents about 0.6% of the views on KZbin. The platform is way bigger and much more fragmented than we tend to think. It's not at all a "winner take all" kind of situation.

[@picklikeapro6952]

You’ll be in the millions soon. Great videos all around.

[@ambi3nttech]

If we saw a video today of some guy with an unregistered hypercam watermark typing text into his notepad with stock music, we would be like wtf is this? But that was the norm pre 2010 lol

[@clusterstage]

I actually like the healthy mix of channels on KZbin. I just hoped there was an option to select between high prod KZbinr and starting KZbinr.

[@jonbednez]

Thank you for sharing! I feel like a minnow in an ocean, but the journey is fun. For me, creating is an enjoyable experience. I agree, fierce competition is everywhere, not just KZbin. Your content is super informative. Cheers.

[@Ellivation]

Production quality is magnificent. Was thinking that the whole video

[@shahyaseenali1690]

Great content as always, keep up the good work!

[@LogicallyAnswered]

Thank you Shah!

[@MiniKodjo]

There is a huge confusion on what people want to see and what people watch ... KZbin pushes content that keeps us engaged and addicted. It's not at all what people would like to see

[@ProductBasement]

There are two types of videos I like: ones with good information but nothing to really see on the screen (which I moreso listen to than watch) and videos that are a visual delight. Videos that are mainly talking heads but have the occasional graphic or video that you need to watch in order to get the proper context are a royal pain

[@GuyMahoney]

"Production values sell!" *points to a decade old game that wasn't even innovative when it came out*

[@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842]

My experience with Yutube tells me, that cheap production doesn't necessarily make a bad production and quality storytelling, script and creative delivery can make up for "cheap" production. But then again, I'm the kind of person, who learns the last about the next biggest KZbinr. Just because biggest youtubers are biggest doesn't mean, that small channels exploring new content venues are impossible. It's just that expectstions must be measured. Ask not whether you could 'make it' on a KZbin. Ask if you want to make KZbin content as a hobby.

[@RichardBaran]

The Mr. Beatification of KZbin. I've been here since 07, TY has gone through about 3 different phases. This one is the worst so far.

[@TheMuslimsarecoming]

I Did A Thing is a great example of someone who is pretty successful on youtube without having given into the hype. He will gets a few million views and is still in his family garage.

[@noobaofficial.]

favorite KZbinr right here!

[@LoganReads]

I would argue that KZbin doesn’t recommend what people want to watch, but rather what people do watch.

[@astrahcat1212]

So true!

[@teddymthembu123]

This video earned you my subscription 👏 I've been following your content for a while

[@thevillager8339]

Maybe you could make a video about why so many modern AAA games (or just most games in general) suck and feel so soulless. You may have done this already, can’t remember.

[@oosha2000]

If only they toned down the amount of ads, it would be less irritating but I'm using adblock nowadays to overcome this. There are other problems yet to be solved (e.g. false copyright claim, broken coppa, hidden dislike counter, etc).

[@neanda]

high production quality usually puts me off as they seem to rely on it too much to cover their basic content, and i also don't always watch the video, usually listen to it while i have music in the background and working on my designs (just like i did with this video 😂 it's why i prefer if they don't have music in the background. i hope that YT has an option in the future for creators to upload with a separate channel for background music that we can turn off as most bg music is just to fill in rather than support the video

[@astrahcat1212]

I'm the same I'd rather everything be dimly lit rooms and small creators at 240p again....I'm serious when I say that, you could always differentiate between the people and the big corporate studios.

[@x7heDeviLx]

i always love your content. you should have way more subs.

[@loveandparty4118]

In addition, I'm sad that these bigger youtubers are constantly talking about how fast they can get to a million subscribers. The passion for making content is a thing of the past and getting more subscribers is all that matters now.

[@waynemaderejr.5286]

Love your videos. What software do you use to edit?

[@madensmith7014]

The rise on the popularity of KZbinrs kinda shows us why famous TV people do the things they do, on the production and fan interaction side of things

[@thefocuschic3234]

This is bad news for new tubers like me :(

[@LogicallyAnswered]

Good luck :)

[@jerrykreutzer4326]

If people watched low budget videos, KZbin would promote those. But they don't, not at nearly the same rate, so it rarely does. Marvel movies are also a lot more popular than indie. Shrug, spending money works. The nice thing about KZbin, compared to other media, is that it's still easy for you to find and get recommendations for all kinds of videos, based on your profile.

[@RayMak]

I miss KZbin

[@rbolo29]

I'm 45 and I have seen it all come together. The newer YT philosophy is better. The quality of content is much better than cat video's and shaky cameras and bad audio.

[@LogicallyAnswered]

Agreed. It’s mostly better for viewers and established creators. Super hard for new creators trying to make it though. Also, a sense of authenticity has indeed been lost.

[@creativeusername1129]

The high production content is good but youtube is still a place for niche content and underground content creators to thrive. For example strategy games may not be super popular overall but there is an extremely dedicated community for those types of games who watch the same handful of content creators who share the same audience because there simply aren’t many.

[@viverasschweiz]

the whole world is a play to win

[@emmanuelmunkondia3866]

Is there a Spotify channel?

[@MetaverseAdventures]

It would serve society better if KZbin paid out more to smaller creators and less as a channel grows. That is not to say you would not make more as your channel grows, but rather it would not grow in a linear fashion. Sort of how taxes work (or are supposed to). The more you make, the more tax you pay. This would mean that a little channel with 10k subs making insightful and valuable videos like teaching a new skill, would be able to sustain their channel versus realizing they are making next to nothing for what often amounts to 10+ hours a week. They never made it as the KZbinr had to quit and work a regular job. KZbin right now is exacerbating income inequality and they have the power to change, but alas, perhaps we the people would see Mr. Beast throw money around than watch a video that could have improved our lives.

[@_paixi]

It's a natural cycle. Passionate individuals having fun create a subculture, it gains mass appeal, becomes standardized and integrated into culture, standards and expectations restrict creativity and mystery, people get bored and create new subcultures, and it repeats. It's not much different than an economic bubble really. Buying into something when there's lots of enthusiasm and attention is never a good idea.

[@astrahcat1212]

So true yes exactly, there are other opportunities forming to get in on the ground floor.

[@lonelychameleon3595]

So like most things you had to get in at the right time before the bar for entry became too high.

[@deanchur]

In my recommended I've got videos ranging from one with 90 views posted a day ago to a few with over a million views in under a week. At least it's putting creators with less than 100 subs in front of me instead of recommending yet another over-produced KZbinr

[@MattAttacks]

still surprised Charlie has a dozen million subscribers with so less effort in his content (atleast the commentary ones) in this era but well what makes him exclusive is consistency and his humor or personality

[@LogicallyAnswered]

Yep, he’s truly an exception haha

[@MattAttacks]

​@@LogicallyAnswered also gotta point out i like the big variety in your content as in like covering events that were unknown to me or problems that arent talked enough about on youtube, like a few weeks ago you published a video where a lithuanian man stole $100M off facebook and i am lithuanian myself and never heard of this 😂 big ups to you

[@andreaspriantono6791]

Dont forget, because of the name of "extreme privacy", that would limit what we view....

[@maddominican879]

I get excited when a i see a new video from your channel.Informative and well done.Keep it up

[@bluelivesmatter8502]

9:40 It's THE ALGORITHM. It has it's own bais. Ever heard of Shadow-ban. Google is politically baised period.

[@MistaWu]

Seems like a typical " either die young or live long enough to become the villain " kind of thing.