Though news has been abuzz for awhile, the official announcement that YouTube has purchased Next New Networks was made today, so a big congratulations is in order.
In a statement made today, with the purchase of Next New Networks, YouTube will launch YouTube Next, “a new team tasked with supercharging creator development and accelerating partner growth and success… The YouTube Next team and programs will expand our partner meet-ups and community events, increase investment in partner education and training and launch new capabilities in audience development.”
All of these developments are good for YouTube Partners, and I applaud YouTube and for that matter Next New Networks for everything they’ve done to monetize online video for the everyman. But….
The thing is: despite the high production value and the increasing level of creativity of some of the top scripted web series, most narrative creators have had a hard time achieving a partnership with YouTube since they don’t typically produce enough regular content to warrant the required views for a partnership. This leads me to a big, huh?! At some point, shouldn’t we refocus here and start to reward the most talented?
OK, ok, that is not the inherent purpose of YouTube, but initiatives such as this should make it a focus, especially if its goal is “helping our partners get the tools and guidance they need to develop higher quality videos and drive bigger audiences to their work.” Yet at the recent Google meetup in New York, the only other scripted web creators I saw in attendance were Anyone But Me’s Tina Cesa Ward and Susan Miller. Bummer, right?
For the few “scripted” web creators like myself who have achieved YouTube partnership (I became a Partner in 2010 for my web series Downsized), it is difficult to even make the partnership profitable for the same reason they’re not doling them out to us– not enough uploads. We don’t upload as much because every video costs a bundle to make in monetary expenses and time. Most of us are not uploading from our flipcam or webcam, you know. We can’t generate as much content without revenue in return.
But talk with a few Partners or do a little googling, and you’ll find out many Partners are raking in YouTube incomes in the six digits. Nice. Scripted creators could seriously use that dough. So, how do we bring scripted web series into the consciousness of YouTube Next, so we can get the promotion and support we need to receive that kind of income?
If YouTube could raise awareness for top online scripted series, ultimately these “next new” creators would be able to make more regular content… and we’d finally have a profitable world of scripted digital television, and we would all be able to stop dodging that question at panels and conventions and dinners with our aunts. Let’s make that the goal for 2011, YouTube.
Daryn Strauss
Very thoughtful, well expressed article Daryn. I feel like the sad fact is that consistency will always equal more eyeballs, and more eyeballs will always equal more funding and attention. The best produced work isn’t always rewarded with the most funding, though we all wish it was. I think the future for high concept scripted drama remains in resources like IndieGoGo and Kickstarter — almost more of a PBS model through crowd sourcing. OR, and this is a big OR scripted series need to develop a strategy to use additional, cheaply produced content on a regular basis — where characters can interact and respond (and monetize in relation to) their audience — and the profit made from those interactions can fuel the higher production value segments.
Amen to that lady, amen to that. If you can fart the ABCs and belch out multiplication tables, you can get a million views. Does that mean you’re more deserving of a partnership with youtube than the person who puts out a professional series that has a limited yearly run due to funding? Hopefully this union is a step closer to a satisfactory resolution!
While I like some of the points brought up here, it’s feeling a little more “c’mon YouTube…help us here!” than is my liking. There is so much to learn from the top YouTube influencers. If you look at the current top 100, many of them are NOT straight vlog-style and even the ones who are have very high production values on par with any well-produced series. They have learned that this is what their audiences want to see and have shown an ability to adapt as their audiences do.
I think a lot of disconnect happens when web series creators try to focus on the differences in what they do from the top YouTube channels instead of looking at how they could learn techniques that will increase their visibility. Web series creators are completely capable of having a regular release schedules if they plan it out ahead of time (most shows choose a weekly release for a run of 6 – 12 or more episodes), they can be interacting with their viewers on a level that the top YouTubers do, etc. etc. etc.
If we want YouTube to grant us the partnership status we want (and that yes, I do believe we deserve), we have to show we’re willing to put in the work once we’re given it.
In a perfect world, yes, they would help us “scripted” creators. I would like to think by delving into the creation and development side of the industry, it would become the responsibility of YouTube to foster the growth of creators and develop web series to achieve a successful and, of course, profitable run. It’s always about the money and understandably so.
I really enjoyed the article. Nicely done.
Thanks Daryn for the interesting and necessary discussion. Do you have any idea how many of the WGAE/ NY Webseries Group series are YT partners? Congratulations on it but I’m praying that it’s not just Downsized and Anyone But Me…
Jenni, very good points. There is much to learn from the top YouTube influencers and I think they are all very talented in their own right. I would argue though that the partner shows with higher production value are able to afford that now because of revenue they brought in as YouTube influencers. Nonetheless, I should do a follow up piece about the techniques of YouTubers and how we can apply that to scripted web series.
We all have to remember that most of us would not be here doing what we do if not for the opportunities YouTube gave us. YouTube is a tremendous resource, and I believe they would love “scripted” shows to be successful as much as we would. I think that is the next step, especially within the framework of YouTube Next. YouTube has a proven monetization model and there is such a great pool of talent out there who could benefit from this platform. It would also elevate the platform.
Anne, I am not sure how many other WGAE members are YouTube partners. I believe Dinosaur Diorama, Thom Woodley’s company, is also a partner. But I think the group is very small. YouTube’s viewership requirement for partnership is usually too high of a threshold for independent scripted web shows. However, we do have to remember that the point of YouTube was not necessarily to foster creative talent but rather as a video sharing platform, so it makes sense to monetize and reward the videos that have been “shared” the most. But I think we can start to open that door a little.
It’s always come down to whether you deliver your content to a waiting audience or if you depend on your audience to find you. If we think about how people find videos on YouTube, first it’s a search engine but we know very few people are searching “web series” or specific shows. We all know what they search for and that’s why you see suggestive titles and thumbnails. On the other side of the coin, there are a number of ways to put videos in front of people’s faces. I know I always want to see what is new and hot so I’m checking Most Viewed, Most Discussed etc. This is what the YouTubers do well, comment campaigns, video response campaigns etc etc. They get their stuff into the rarified air where it then can gain momentum on it’s own.
Obviously the best way is featured page placement. When NewTeeVee has a spotlight feature all the shows selected received a boost in views and subs. So we know when spoonfed, there are viewers.