Subscription platforms like Patreon have ushered in a new dawn of financial sustenance amongst online creators and influencers. But how did we get here? This yellow toned icon represents demonetisation or the process whereby independent content creators are denied paid ad rolls throughout their video, thus denying them revenue and reducing their income from the video-hosting platform.
Revenue from ads is one of the main sources of income for creators on YouTube and has played an integral role in the progression of both creators and wider platform growth. The video-hosting platform acts as the middleman; with creators receiving payment to place advertisements across their content. However, monetisation is not a one-way ticket to financial nirvana.
The first sign of catastrophic change on the platform came in when YouTuber PewDiePie found himself in controversy number one, kicking off the first Adpocalypse with some less than wise anti-semetic comments, prompting the Wall Street Journal to launch their defamatory attack on the Swedish creator. This, along with a discovery that YouTube was running ads over videos from terrorist organizations and other extremist groups, caused YouTube to implement policies that gave advertisers more control over the placement of their ads.
What followed was a huge dip in creator revenues, as YouTube became hypersensitive to the content eligible for monetisation. During the Adpocalypse, creators became aware of how reliant they were on YouTube, AdSense, and support from advertisers.
As demonetisation plagued the platform and creators worldwide, there was a solution to this barren wasteland preparing to alter the fabrics of the online creator sphere.
