My Thoughts on the ban of VNs

Recently, YouTube introduced a ban of subnetworks (called Virtual Networks, or VNs) of YouTube networks (more precisely called MCNs). You can see the policy here: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7020428

As someone who previously owned a VN, I can wholeheartedly disagree with this decision. I cannot tell you how many people (thousands and thousands) have lost their only employment due to this happening. People who dropped out of school to pursue their dream, young entrepreneurs with no back-up, and their talented and dedicated support and recruitment staff. For these people it is simply over now, completely without warning or any control.

Google/YouTube's reasoning for this is twofold. They say the following of subnetworks:

1. They grant unaccountable third parties access to sensitive tools.
2. They cause creator confusion in the marketplace when creators believe they are signing up with one brand but are actually rolled up under another company.

Why then, if you own the site, not force all VN owners to sign contracts making them accountable, held to strict terms of conditions (including privacy which I imagine is the issue), and force them to ensure they tell all channel owners whom they recruit exactly who they will be managed by, what the status of their channel will be, and which network they are under? This solves all of those issues. Then you can focus on the real problems - huge corporate networks that spam naive YouTubers and then take all they can from them for nothing.

People majoritively started VNs from a background of forming a small community of like-minded channels who supported one another, and offered some level of support and advice for them, ultimately only wanting to help the channels. I know that's exactly how I and many other networks started, and it has now been torn down in an instant.

You will be quick to forget VNs who donated all of their earnings to charity, dedicated themselves to supporting the channels and gave their partners the straight to the point, helpful, friendly and useful advice that their host networks so often neglect to give to members, genuinely improving the deal offered to them. In this respect I also feel sorry for members of VNs who will now have to move to their host network, often losing a plethora of benefits in doing so.

For those who say "networks are bad"; yes that is true for some. But come on, why sign up to a network when you can't leave? (On that note, only ever go to networks with permanent no-lock in contracts) Do your research on CPM, revenue share, support and improvement tools they will offer you - ask those already in the network if you need to. Stories of bad experiences at networks like Machinima, Maker Studios and others have spread around the YouTube Community and given us and our industry a bad name that we may never shake. I can't tell you how many times I have been sworn at and told how I am a thief when using the account of my network.

Ultimately then, I hold YouTube responsible for this. They have failed to take early action to stem the real problem with networks, and now have *not* solved it, and in doing so have destroyed thousands of jobs. Good job, guys.



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I'm interested to know what the wider community think - please let me know and why (even if you disagree with me completely)!

 

I'm interested to know what the wider community think - please let me know and why (even if you disagree with me completely)!

@MrDJSilva

Thanks Can I ask why you deleted them? Are you not allowed to post links in these forums (i.e. not the videos one) even if they're not yours and just to inform people?
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@Veo

Yeah they should have acted sooner to be honest. The thing I'd like to have seen is an automated system to upload members' videos (who have signed up) to a hub channel, would've saved me a lot of time xD I think it's important to put up popular videos from large channels and smaller ones which need the exposure more, as well as info videos or members. The approach there sounds good though, but you can already really do that if you give other Google users access to a YouTube channel, but not ownership.

I'm interested to know how ad revenue works though, especially with networks (?)

I think if you say all network contracts to partners must be permanently no lock-in, simple and fully transparent and published, and do the contract I mentioned in my first post for VNs above, you shouldn't have any problems. Oh and all network owners should be 18 or over, and make sure if they do screw people over you do something about it.

 

Gotcha

 

That sounds good, I'd like to see how it's implemented. And no problem!