YouTube's New Feature Will Tittilate Advertisers
But Apparently Users Get No Lovin'
A lot of people in my life are impressed that I’m a YouTube partner. That’s because I don’t disclose how much money I make compared to how much time I spend making videos. Though if they find this photo, hopefully they’ll stop asking me to pay for things with my YouTube money.
He won’t shut up about how famous he is. I mean, if you’re so famous, why can’t you pay for your own insurance? - Payton’s dad, unprompted, at a Knicks game.
I’m an artist who chooses to monetize his work. But I monetize cautiously. I’ll gladly take money from people in exchange for my art (hence this Substack), but I don’t accept money from brands. I also refuse to take someone’s money in exchange for a t-shirt or water bottle. I’m not a salesman, and I’m not a billboard. I’m an artist.
But I do allow ads to be placed on my YouTube videos. I have no interest in being a company’s cute little billboard, but I guess I’m fine with companies placing billboards on my videos. But in this context, I’m removed from the selling, and my audience knows I’m not personally endorsing any of these products. Plus, it’s free money. I’m not making a moral stand on how artists should monetize their art, it’s just where I draw my line. This is what I’m comfortable with.
Last week, The Publish Press, a newsletter by Colin and Samir, covered Brandcast 2025, an event where YouTube shows off new ways that companies can advertise on their beloved video platform. What a way to spend the weekend! Apparently, Lady Gaga performed at the event… I wonder how many conversions her performance drove.
As long as she makes us money, I can Die With A Smile - Someone With A Degree In Marketing
Although I don’t care to help companies sell crap, I think it’s cool that fellow creators and artists are getting paid. I think it’s great that YouTube has provided so many creative people the ability to pursue their creativity full-time. I’m honestly happy for them. But I’m also frustrated with the same ecosystem that has given so much to creators.
YouTube and social media in general have been overrun with advertisements. It’s making the user experience exhausting. Many big creators seem to jump from artist to business owner, and while that’s their prerogative, I fear we’re starting to lose the plot.
I talk about this at length in my video, I Don’t Care About Your Product.
When I consider the financial disparity between these massive creators and the fans their slinging products at… well, I try not to consider this cause it makes me glum. And many creators still don’t do their research on the companies they attach themselves to. Just last week, Adam Conover was called out for promoting a sketchy crypto orb. While I’m glad viewers are doing their part to call out creators, why is it their responsibility? Plus, tons of creators continue to promote shady companies like BetterHelp with little to no pushback.
These personal frustrations I have as a viewer have helped me draw the line as a creator.
In the newsletter, Colin and Samir cover the strength of YouTube’s presence on television and how TV ads drive a 4.5x better return than traditional streaming services. They also break down all the features YouTube is adding to its platform to further entice brands to give Neal Mohan cash. Most of these features don’t impact me as a creator or viewer, but there’s one that does, it’s called Peak Points.
I love Peak Points, their food is way better than Hooters - A Midwestern Guy In His 50s Who Just Loves A Good Bite To Eat
Peak Points is a feature that was built using the handsome, sexy AI software Gemini (I get excited just thinking about him). This feature will “identify high-emotion, ‘peak’ moments in videos to place ads more effectively.”
Everytime a new feature like this gets announced, I get pissed… for roughly 84 seconds. Then I tend to contextualize these features in the grand scheme of the world, and while it helps with my anger, it doesn’t help with my depression.
This is a bad feature. I’m sure it will generate more money for YouTube, which in turn might even make me a few more pennies. But I’m tired of YouTube making moves to please advertisers rather than their users. Year over year, they’ve added more ads, longer ads, and more, longer, unskippable ads. While this specific feature is a small modification, combined with all the other small modifications they’ve made, we’re left with a platform that can be tiring to use.
YouTube’s priority is to suck off advertisers when it should be to delicately kiss their users. It’s a shame, really. - I’m Pretty Sure Jake Tapper Said This
Part of me feels like I can’t complain since, as I mentioned, these changes will make me a bit more money. But I’m not asking for more money. As a viewer and creator, I don’t want this. And let’s be so for real, this move isn’t for creators, it’s for advertisers.
I want YouTube to succeed financially because it’s where I host a lot of my art. But the platform is succeeding, and these aren’t moves to stay ahead of the curve; they’re moves to soak more money out of their dry users.
A few months ago, YouTube removed my ability to place ads on my videos. When this initially happened, I didn’t care. But now, as they roll out this new feature, I’d like that ability back! I want ads placed during the least important moments of my videos. I also don’t want my videos to be full of mid-rolls. All of that’s now out of my control. But hey, maybe I’ll be able to afford a few Feastables chocolate bars with all this extra money.
YouTube can butcher their user experience without consequence. At least that’s what they’ve been doing for years. There’s no direct competitor to YouTube, and other streaming companies like Netflix are following suit. As a creator, YouTube is the only platform I’m famous enough on to reach people, so I’m going nowhere. As a viewer, there’s no other platform that has the kind of long-form video content I want. Trust me, YouTube knows that.
I read these 2 articles while making this article: