PewdiePie lost a few sponsors recently

Page 4 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
His fame was the result of YouTube's algorithm for listing their "Trending" a long time ago. There's a few videos that go into detail how the algorithms were programmed that lead to his fame. Essentially, YouTube's programming made him famous simply because of where he lives - ie. he got lucky.

This is interesting - I've always wondered why the HUGE discrepancy in subscribers between him and anyone like him.
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
62,639
18,742
136
How can the most famous youtuber with almost 60 million subscribers only earn $12 million a year?

im not saying thats a small ammount, but man someone that famous should be not less then hundred millions $ per year..
Well, there is the fact that it's not like any of those people are paying to watch him, so I'd say that's pretty damn good.
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
3,680
630
126
How can the most famous youtuber with almost 60 million subscribers only earn $12 million a year?

im not saying thats a small ammount, but man someone that famous should be not less then hundred millions $ per year..
He gets paid to sit on his ass and play video games. You really think he needs to be an even bigger millionaire? Most people don't crest 70k a year working their ass off at some shitty job, so I personally don't believe he should be paid as much as he does at the moment.
 
Mar 11, 2004
23,444
5,852
146
I find it funny how uninformed everyone is on this.

I don't support Pewdiepie or whatever, and I have NEVER watched a SINGLE video from him since I'm not the target audience... but this is a clear cut case of the media misconstruing and trying to chop someone that is taking from them. Every single thing is a joke that was taken out of context.

I highly suggest looking at this stuff from Phillip DeFranco that is reporting on it often: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtlDC1sZFSg

News media is dying, Youtubers are rising and crushing them. This guy has 50 million SUBSCRIBERS. You think that many people subscribe to the Wallstreet Journal?

This isn't about "old media" trying to destroy new media for the simple fact old media has been doing shit worse than this to itself for, basically as long as media has existed. Talk about being uninformed, some people need to learn history. They used to do "hit pieces" far worse than this back in fucking ancient Greece, China, and pretty much anywhere that people wrote or even talked about things more complex than "food, kill, fuck". Hell go back and read the discussions (often through letters or posted in newspapers) from early America and see all the shit talking that used to go on. Our founding fathers were often gigantic assholes.

Big whoop, subscribers mean basically jack shit. I've seen some claiming he alone brings in "billions" for Youtube which is straight up horseshit. Not saying he isn't valuable to them (there's a reason they didn't kick his ass off despite him making shitty bigoted jokes for a long time), but uh, I'm pretty sure there are individual people subscribing to the WSJ that are worth more than all of his subscribers and him combined.

Next, pretty sure this was just on WSJ's shitty online blog type thing, not any way comparable to the real WSJ magazine/newspaper, so don't be a hypocrite and say its just a hit piece by old media when its actually media that is basically every bit as new as Youtubers (in fact, I'd actually say that this new shitty blog journalism is more a result of Youtube as that's more or less what Youtube has turned into, people just spouting their own claims and backing it up with incredibly specious "facts" so its media doing what media does, figures out what people show with their behavior actually want).

Absolutely there's a lot of people that don't understand Youtube and the changing face of media, but practically all these Youtubers almost constantly say they don't understand it themselves, so them getting bent out of shape that others don't is just bizarre.

That doesn't matter at all though as that has literally fucking nothing to do with this (so PewDiePie can shut the fuck up that this is all just old media not understanding Youtube).

If everything was "taken out of context", then all that they need to do is show that. Show the clips, show the evidence that PewDiePie gave them the context he claims. Not this endless bullshit blather about the media and other shit that doesn't prove your point (speaking with regards to what PewDiePie has said about this shit). So far I have not seen that. I've seen him also completely change the context as well. Remember when he initially said he was doing that shit to make some social commentary? And then his first defense was "no one should take any of my commentary seriously"? You can't have it both ways, you can't both try to make valid points but then when you did an incredibly shitty job of it just get to claim that its a joke so people need to not get bent out of shape.

I'm also completely baffled at how he thinks he was making a social point about Fiverr and people being willing to do anything for a bit of money. That's literally what he fucking does and how he became a millionaire. He's surprised that he can pay $5 to have people write anything he wants on a fucking sign?

Not only that, but he also claims he openly said he came up with the most offensive thing he could think of, not believing they'd actually write it (which come on, he's not that naive is he, and he thinks other people don't understand the internet?). And then after the fact says he realizes it "probably went to far and was offensive"? Um, if you add the context afterwards (and after the shit you're bitching about took things out of context) then you can't go crying about things being taken out of context. Doubly so if you change the context after the fact to suit your new narrative.

And that brings up some simple points. He fucking sucks ass at being a "comedian" and doing "jokes". Which he actually mostly readily admits. The issue is, he hasn't learned anything from it. He has been saying/doing some of this awful shit for quite a while now (and sorry this is hardly the first time it's been pointed out either, the only reason this is bigger news now is it literally cost him deals with two major media companies), so him acting like he's being victimized is his own fault. These don't even really count as "jokes" is a big part of the problem and so his claims about context show he's lacking it every bit as much as any media that he thinks is out to get him. Would he be ok if Disney and YouTube came out and said they pulled their deals because they think he's just an incredibly shitty comedian and that he should either learn what a joke actually is or STFU?

Another point that needs to be made is people saying that the media is just putting out clickbait while ignoring that PewDiePie has been pulling stunts to get attention as well. So him crying about that just shows what a massive hypocrite (and how full of shit) he is. And is he really surprised that the media might have been looking to hit him after his stupid "I'm quitting Youtube" bullshit that IIRC was done partly to troll the media about how they can be duped into making a story about something that isn't really? And is he surprised that YouTube is pulling shit considering that stunt also basically spread bullshit about them fucking over the people that YouTube has actually been going out of their way to promote?

The more I see from him trying to deflect this (and other stuff that is finally catching up to him), the more he looks like a complete fucking idiot (and the people defending him even moreso; I almost laugh out loud seeing the Gamergate crowd defending him when he literally does what they claim was their actual cause; he got fined for having been paid to promote a game and not disclosing that and he's effectively just been a marketing clown for the gaming industry for years now).

Not that I think there isn't valid points about media (although, like the millenials FUD, a lot of it people act like just suddenly sprung up in the past few years, when its been a problem all along). I feel very weird these days, as there's absolutely plenty of legitimate criticism to be levied at the media, but goddamn if the people bitching the most about it aren't almost entirely lacking real understanding of what those are. And the more baffling thing is their solution for it is to basically just find whatever random jackasses say things they want to believe. I just shake my head when people can't see that how they've replaced talking heads with talking heads.

I stand by my original point, this story is a mix of most things that are shitty about the world lately.
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
This guy has 50 million SUBSCRIBERS. You think that many people subscribe to the Wallstreet Journal?
You know they're talking about YouTube subscribers, right? It just means 50m people clicked "subscribe" after watching one of his videos, so they see his newer uploads come up in their subscription feed on YouTube. It's the same as following someone on Twitter and seeing that person's posts in your Twitter feed. There's no fee. If the WSJ had a subscription model that was entirely ad-supported, then you might be able to compare.
 

Mai72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2012
11,562
1,741
126
You know they're talking about YouTube subscribers, right? It just means 50m people clicked "subscribe" after watching one of his videos, so they see his newer uploads come up in their subscription feed on YouTube. It's the same as following someone on Twitter and seeing that person's posts in your Twitter feed. There's no fee. If the WSJ had a subscription model that was entirely ad-supported, then you might be able to compare.

It shows in the comment section.

What I mean is you could have 200k subscribers yet you may only get 35 comments. Where are the 200k subscribers at? With an online personality like Pewds, many people just subscribe and many never go back to the channel. I can't tell you how many YT personalities that I was subbed too, and that I hardly ever watched any of their newer videos. I'm very selective anymore about the people that I sub too.

Now, YT and the other social media outlets like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and so on are amazing because it cost virtually nothing to promote your business or brand. It's crazy to think that PewDiePie built up his brand for practically nothing. And, it's not just Pewds. There are hundreds of people. Everything from fitness, business, motivation, pranks, etc. These guys are making a nice living online. 10 years ago this was unheard of.

IMO, we are in an era of mass disruption. And it's just the start. Many industries that were once untouched are felling the pressure. And, that's true for the WSJ.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
Now, YT and the other social media outlets like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and so on are amazing because it cost virtually nothing to promote your business or brand. It's crazy to think that PewDiePie built up his brand for practically nothing. And, it's not just Pewds. There are hundreds of people. Everything from fitness, business, motivation, pranks, etc. These guys are making a nice living online. 10 years ago this was unheard of.

Yup it's pretty crazy that 20-somethings are able to live off YT alone. I sub to a few guys who go on college campuses to make prank or funny videos. They are often asked if they go to school there and nope - they dropped out, and just do videos and don't work otherwise. One of them was even able to get a nice big apartment from the income alone and directly thanked his subscribers for it. People also have nice cars from it.

Crowd-sourcing makes it very easy as long as you have the subs. Hell if I had $1 from every member online right now once a month ($8,275/mo.), I'd be $99,300 richer every year. PM me if you want my paypal. :D
 
Last edited:

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,317
681
126
Yup it's pretty crazy that 20-somethings are able to live off YT alone. I sub to a few guys who go on college campuses to make prank or funny videos. They are often asked if they go to school there and nope - they dropped out, and just do videos and don't work otherwise. One of them was even able to get a nice big apartment from the income alone and directly thanked his subscribers for it. People also have nice cars from it.

Crowd-sourcing makes it very easy as long as you have the subs. Hell if I had $1 from every member online right now once a month ($8,275/mo.), I'd be $99,300 richer every year. PM me if you want my paypal. :D
Sounds like all of us should do this thing on the side. I mean if he can make videos like that and record himself playing games making money off it, I'm sure others can come up with more original content, and they have.

But I also have subscribed to some YouTube channels and never really went back to check their new videos.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
I'm gonna need to watch those YouTube videos sounds pretty interesting if you are into that type of stuff and sometimes I am.

Here's one from MattPat on his Game Theory channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLJQ0gFHM8s

...and here's one that he posted recently about this controversy. It doesn't really discuss the controversy so much as it discusses why PewDiePie's antics were poorly received compared to other comedians making potentially tasteless jokes and it not being an issue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxphJ-dnX2Y
 

desura

Diamond Member
Mar 22, 2013
4,627
129
101
Yup it's pretty crazy that 20-somethings are able to live off YT alone. I sub to a few guys who go on college campuses to make prank or funny videos. They are often asked if they go to school there and nope - they dropped out, and just do videos and don't work otherwise. One of them was even able to get a nice big apartment from the income alone and directly thanked his subscribers for it. People also have nice cars from it.

Crowd-sourcing makes it very easy as long as you have the subs. Hell if I had $1 from every member online right now once a month ($8,275/mo.), I'd be $99,300 richer every year. PM me if you want my paypal. :D

Yeah, Marquis Brownlee or something all he does is review phones. That is it. It isn't hard at all. It doesn't take any brilliance to lay out your thoughts about some minor difference in weight or some crap in a phone.

And in one of his videos, dude has got a Tesla that he is "reviewing." Youtube income was enough to snag him a Tesla. Insane. Awesome for him too.
 

Mai72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2012
11,562
1,741
126
Yeah, Marquis Brownlee or something all he does is review phones. That is it. It isn't hard at all. It doesn't take any brilliance to lay out your thoughts about some minor difference in weight or some crap in a phone.

And in one of his videos, dude has got a Tesla that he is "reviewing." Youtube income was enough to snag him a Tesla. Insane. Awesome for him too.

I know Marquis. He has a huge YT following. The thing is Marquis is good enough to do this for a living. It's not rocket science, but it's not super simple either. Go look at his early videos. They look nothing like the slick produced videos today. He hung in there and he was producing videos when no one was watching.

And, that's they key. Many people who do YT quit early and they never come back. Many think it's easy and they're first video is going to have 10 thousand people watching. The reality is for most YT streamers it's a very slow process. You can release 4 videos a week and have ZERO viewers. At least in the beginning. Many aren't willing to stick it out for 3 plus years. I've noticed many channels are in it for a few months to only be abandoned.

I watched a channel called "What's in It?" Its father/son and they rip apart toys and guitars. Anything that has a middle. They ripped apart Stretch Armstrong in their last video. They have a 4m sub base. It's so stupid and ZERO talent. Yet, they are probably making 6 figures.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,317
681
126
Yea Marquis's videos are the ones I always watch. I enjoy them for some reason and he does good reviews now. His studio or workplace where he records his videos is pretty sweet.