Posted in: Games, Video Games, YouTube | Tagged: crowdfunding, kickstarter, pateron, youtube

YouTube's Latest Policy Change Affects Donation Systems

Published Sat, 30 Sep 2017 06:45:37 -0500

Last updated Sat, 30 Sep 2017 07:32:28 -0500

It looks like anyone using a Kickstarter, Pateron or other crowdfunding resource on YouTube are about to run into some issues. The website just updated their policy system again for people involved with the YouTube Partners Program related to advertising. The program basically says that before you can add a donation system to your page, you must join the YPP. In order to join, you must have at least 10,000 unique views to your channel (approved by the company). While on the surface that may not seem like a big deal, people tend to forget sometimes how hard it can be to get your first 1,000 views when you're new to the system and just starting out, let alone 10,000. So many established names who have been running off Pateron are now going to be in the cold as that option will be taken away until they partner up.

The move is being criticized on social media by many Let's Players who see the changes as targeting people who are either not interested in partnering with YouTube, or just starting out and rely on services like Pateron to help pay their bills and make this a full-time job. Some have even gone so far as to say that YouTube is essentially now creating a choke point for newcomers and unless an individual can get to 10,000 very quickly, the odds of them succeeding right out the gate are slim, which will siphon off a lot of new talent coming to YouTube in the future. To keep this in perspective, if you were to join Twitch right now, you'd have a 50/50 split over subscribers and can add a Pateron immediately in your channel's notes, meaning you have a better shot on a live platform than you do an edited one. If YouTube wanted to drive new people away, they couldn't have picked a better way to do it.

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