Demonetisation is a controversial issue on YouTube. The platform relies on its algorithms and the work of its human teams to decide which videos can be advertised on to earn money. However, its system is still quite mysterious, to say the least. To avoid being trapped by the random monetisation of the platform, influencers are increasingly turning to participatory funding and playing the community card.

Some influencers are doing just fine in YouTube hell

 

More and more influencers manage to live comfortably thanks to income from outside the platform. Some have even given up on the idea of making "YouTube money" for good. Instead, they are turning to their fan base to make a comfortable living. Those whose channels boast thousands of subscribers produce long videos and protect themselves from any monetisation by YouTube. This is the case for example of ALT 236, an influencer whose channel has over 139,000 subscribers. His videos are popular with fans of fantasy and horror films. "I like to think of my videos as immersive experiences," he explains, hence his decision not to introduce any pre-roll ads. He also does not intend to place any particular operation with Nord VPN. He has turned to the Tipee platform to generate revenue.

On Tipee, Internet users can pay money monthly to the creators of the content that makes them most excited. While he had set himself the goal of earning the equivalent of a minimum wage through this method, ALT 236 now earns around 1,400 euros each month. "It's a bit like outsmarting YouTube's algorithms," says the influencer, who points out that he no longer has to comply with video broadcasting schedules in order to optimise shares. Also, he no longer has to fear Content ID. This is nothing more or less than the Machiavellian robot that detects copyrighted content and demonetises videos caught by the patrol.

 

Platforms turn up their noses and offer a participatory funding model

 

Some platforms are also not shy about bending the rules of YouTube and setting up participatory funding. uTip is one of them. Since it was set up in 2018, this platform has continued to attract content creators and now has more than 6,500 of them. Nota Bene and The King of Rats are among those listed. uTip allows Internet users to make a traditional donation. But it also allows them to view pay-per-view advertisements in order to earn money for their favourite influencers. Adrien Mennilino, the platform's founder, is keen to point out that this approach differs from advertising directly on YouTube. In fact, according to him, "the ads are totally unconnected to the content of the videos" on uTip, unlike YouTube. It is rather the personality of the youtoubeur that is put forward.