12/01/2022
Let me update you on this page and it's related accounts, mainly the youtube channel.
Youtube can be highly useful, motivating and rewarding when you are sharing content. But it can also be ultimately frustrating and it's a minefield when it comes to reusing digital content.
WAM scenes are especially tricky as you have to balance copyright vs. fair use of content and the topic in and of itself being probably regarded as adult material.
Both aspects will affect the possibility of monetizing videos on youtube and help to pay for the time and effort you put into a channel, which is after all essential to be able to do it.
I gave it a try almost two years ago and for several months my channel kept growing at a pace I wasn't expecting. It didn't take long and the channel was eligeable for monetization. I applied and immediately got accepted for the youtube partner programme. It seemed I had struck the right balance, because I didn't just repost what was available elsewhere, but rather added value by cutting, colour grading, and most importantly improving the quality of many WAM scenes.
Things went well I had a copyright issue here and there, mainly because of background music used in the original videos, but that was manageable. I started generating monthly income at a level that was by far not enough to live on it, but to justify the time I spent to myself ;-)
But all of a sudden after constant growth over several months - out of nowhere - I got hit with a full and complete demonetization of the whole channel because of reused content on the channel. It was not unexpected that this could happen to the channel but it was somehow frustrating that youtube - while offering an appeal and review process - didn't want to accept my argumentation of the added high quality editing.
I followed youtubes own recommendation regarding reused content as described here: https://support.google.com/youtube/forum/AAAAiuErobUUxfdrq_tAlM/?hl=en&gpf=%23!topic%2Fyoutube%2FUxfdrq_tAlM
"If you upload content from multiple sources or repurpose existing content, you may still be eligible for YPP so long as you’re contributing to the value of that content in some way. For example, if you add significant original commentary, educational value, narrative, or high quality editing, then your channel may be fine to monetize."
I decided to pull my channel, and I am not sure if I will give it another try. It seems this kind of editing may not be considered enough to remain in the YPP. To be honest, without any income it is simply to time-consuming to keep editing those videos. Some of them took several days to edit.
I'll be happy about your thoughts and ideas!
