Top 7 Theories: Why YouTube Decided to Pay Creators… Finally

by Nalts on January 27, 2007

stand3.jpgOkay. I’ve been urging YouTube to share advertising revenue since before I started this blog a year ago. They finally decided to do so today.

This was one of WillVideoforFood’s top 10 predictions for 2007. Needless to say, we’re very excited (see our video reaction). But why now? Top 7 theories.

  1. YouTube sensed the defection to LiveVideo, and is using ad sharing to hold on to creators (which will, in turn, keep viewers).
  2. Major media companies are demanding it, and YouTube knows it would be risky to pay some creators and not all.
  3. Chad Hurley, YouTube cofounder, had too much wine at the economic summit and decided to show he has a heart. Forgot to tell Google.
  4. Revver was starting to overtake YouTube’s traffic. Kidding.
  5. It’s the only way to ensure the site’s viability now that almost anyone can replicate community.
  6. It’s the right thing to do. Current contributors are attracting eyeballs and creating advertising revenue. Take Judson Laipply (Evolution of Dance creator- as seen in image). He’s approaching 40 million views. Do you realize how much advertising revenue that represents for YouTube? Even a couple pennies a view would have made him a millionaire.
  7. Google supported it — similar to the way they handle Adwords/Adsense.

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