LonelyGirl15 Creators on YouTube Revenue Share

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By Alexandra Delyle January 31, 2007

Late last week, YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley announced the company's plan to remunerate its vast network of users for their content, a decision that will have a tremendous effect on the online video community. The Daily Reel went straight to the creators of one of the web's most influential series, LonelyGirl15, to get the scoop on what people are saying about the monetization of YouTube.

We spoke with Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried, two of the three LG15 creators. Here's what they had to say...

TDR: What was your first reaction to Chad Hurley's announcement that YouTube plans to share revenue with content creators?

LG15: We were excited both for us and for the YouTube community. YouTube has created an excellent platform for people to express themselves, but YouTube's success is based entirely on the hard work and creativity of the community. People put a lot of time and effort into their videos and it is only right for them to be compensated.


TDR: What do you think motivated this announcement?

LG15: We have no idea, but they probably are seeing the emergence of a lot of competing video websites that are providing revenue sharing. It is a logical next step for them to make sure they remain the leaders in this field.


TDR: How do you think a rev-share model will actually operate on such a large scale?

LG15: We're sure there will be a lot of logistics to work out, because they likely can't pay users for uploading music videos or television shows. There are also a lot of issues with background music and other copyrighted materials that appear in the videos. However, as professional content creators who clear our material, we are as eager as everyone to see their rev-share model.


TDR: Is there real money to be made in online video?

LG15: Hopefully! The numbers we get on our videos rival popular cable television shows. With the emerging popularity of DVR's and the difficult time advertisers have reaching teenagers and young adults, it only makes sense for advertisers to shift at least some portion of their advertising budgets to popular Internet video shows.


TDR: How will a newly-added incentive affect the online video community?

LG15: That is very hard to tell. We imagine it will attract creative people who see this as a way to express themselves and make money. However, since most YouTubers spend no money on the videos they upload, making money is probably not the force that drives community members to upload videos. Only time will tell.