The business of YouTube

As early as noon of 26 May, a queue outside the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City had already formed. Such a scene outside of the events venue is normal, but the people lining up were not there to see any Billboard chart-topping artist or a Filipino act. They were there to see a new breed of stars.

The featured headliners at that evening’s events were not the usual matinee or singing idols but a bunch of millennials and Gen Zs who gained international stardom through the popular video-sharing site, YouTube.

YouTube was founded in 2006, two years after Facebook. In just a matter of years, both become integral in everyday living in a connected world.

It also became the gateway to stardom for many ordinary folks. Pranksters, comics, beauty vloggers, wanderlusts, DIY enthusiasts, gamers and reviewers found their space in the open platform. Now, anybody who has interesting and relatable content can just upload their videos for all the world to see.

It was not until a few years ago that YouTube was no longer just for fun. It became serious business.

Forbes’ 2018 list of YouTube millionaires is an eye-opener. At the top of the chain is a seven-year-old toy reviewer from Los Angeles, California. Ryan Kaji is the face of Ryan ToysReview.

With the guidance of his parents, Ryan reviews toys he likes. Last year, Forbes listed him as the highest paid YouTuber who earned $22 million of revenue from his videos and offsite earnings in the form of deals and endorsements. He has his own product line in retail giant Walmart.

Most of these YouTubers attest that they started uploading videos because they wanted to share want makes them happy. It was the case for this year’s YouTube Fanfest headliners, which included Alex Wassabi, Rei Germar, Hannah Kathleen and the dancing sibling duo of Ranz Kyle and Niana Guerrero.

Wassabi, considered to be an OG, or Internet slang for “original gangster” or old school, started his eponymous channel with a group of friends in the same year that YouTube started. They just goofed around the camera and uploaded these videos.

“I’ve been making videos for 13 years and the first five years was just me and my friends having fun. We didn’t get paid. And then it took off and it hasn’t stopped. It’s just gotten crazier and crazier,” said Alex, born Alex Burriss, during the round table with the press prior to the fan fest that would be held that night.

DANCING siblings Ranz Kyle and Niana Guerrero perform their collaboration dance track, “Dip,” with Lavaado during the Second YouTube Fanfest held in Manila last May.

From a group channel, Alex is now the solo face of the Wassabi channel after his friends left the group. He currently has 11 million subscribers.

“How lucrative is it? It is pretty, pretty… (breaks into laughter). It’s cool because the bigger you get, the more… you get different opportunities,” Alex shared.

He’s had collaborations with big brands such as a famous coffee brand where he was tapped for a campaign.

Social Blade, a website that tracks social media statistics and analytics and which has been cited by other media outfits in their research for the estimates of social network artists, estimates Wassabi’s monthly earnings at $6,300 to $101,100. His yearly is estimated at $75,900 to $1.2 million.

But Alex shared that he is now beyond the money.

“A lot of stuff that I do is because I want to do it. Sometimes deals will come in and my friends would discourage me because there’s not enough money. And I’m like, it still looks fun so I’m still going to do it. It’s less about the money and more about the experience,” he shared.

MARC Lefkowitz, head of creator and artist development of YouTube Asia Pacific.

Alex’s sentiment is echoed by his fellow Fanfest headliners. All of them pulled in their own viewership because they enjoy what they are doing. The views get translated to ads, a growing number of subscribers and deals with brands.

How does one stay at the top tier of the platform?

“There are so many other YouTubers so try really hard to find your voice and find out what you want to be and what you want kids to look up to. I think with all these, I guess, power?…responsibility, you have to be careful with what you do,” Alex mused.

Rei Germar, a beauty vlogger since 2016 and who has expanded into lifestyle and travel, agreed. But she underscored an age-old marketing concept that still does well on YouTube.

“Work on your branding. Branding is very, very important. You have to think of that certain thing that will remind certain people about you, about your content,” said the YouTuber who currently has 971,000 subscribers.

HANNAH Kathleen hopes to make her content more relevant as part of her transition to living independently abroad.

Ranz Kyle, one-half of the dancing siblings of YouTube, added another valuable tip.

“Before we just filmed whatever we wanted, but these days we follow a schedule. We save videos. Consistency is the key here,” shared the 21-year-old who rose to fame by uploading his dance videos starting 2008. He currently has eight million subscribers.

He eventually added his little sister, Niana, in his dancing videos. Twelve-year-old Niana also has her YouTube channel with six million subscribers.

“Authenticity, connecting and engaging with fans are keys to making it in the industry. It’s amazing. I don’t know how much each of them makes, but we see more and more people earn a living in YouTube, which makes us happy that they can do what they love and that they can actually earn a living here,” shared Marc Lefkowitz, head of creator and artist development of YouTube Asia Pacific.