I watch a lot of YouTube stuff on my telly.
Most of what else I view these days is on demand, either through the Apple Store, the BBC iPlayer, Netflix or Amazon. It's increasingly rare that I watch anything live or linear.
Oh yes, how very modern that must make me sound, but I don't like adverts, I don't like having to wait, and I don't like watching things that I'm only slightly interested in, because that's all that's on offer. I'll gladly pay a Netflix subscription fee, and for Amazon Prime, to watch what I want, when I want it. And I hope that whatever version of the BBC emerges from the charter negotiations takes that into account.
But I honestly think that YouTube is the most special thing of all, and I understand why the generation below me is gravitating towards it, away from traditional TV.
Whether it's somebody falling off a bridge, or leaping out of a bin liner to startle their father, or a tour of somewhere I'm thinking of going on holiday, or an old 1970s Woolworths Christmas advert, or how to attempt some DIY project (as if!), or the sort of show that would never get on TV... I love the fact that everything imaginable is on there.
It's amateurish, and immediate, and basically democracy in action, albeit facilitated by a large corporate entity with an enormous amount of money in its pockets.
So why do I feel so uncomfortable that YouTube is introducing a paid subscription service, when I'm happy to splurge on its rivals? Matron.
Most of what else I view these days is on demand, either through the Apple Store, the BBC iPlayer, Netflix or Amazon. It's increasingly rare that I watch anything live or linear.
Oh yes, how very modern that must make me sound, but I don't like adverts, I don't like having to wait, and I don't like watching things that I'm only slightly interested in, because that's all that's on offer. I'll gladly pay a Netflix subscription fee, and for Amazon Prime, to watch what I want, when I want it. And I hope that whatever version of the BBC emerges from the charter negotiations takes that into account.
But I honestly think that YouTube is the most special thing of all, and I understand why the generation below me is gravitating towards it, away from traditional TV.
Whether it's somebody falling off a bridge, or leaping out of a bin liner to startle their father, or a tour of somewhere I'm thinking of going on holiday, or an old 1970s Woolworths Christmas advert, or how to attempt some DIY project (as if!), or the sort of show that would never get on TV... I love the fact that everything imaginable is on there.
It's amateurish, and immediate, and basically democracy in action, albeit facilitated by a large corporate entity with an enormous amount of money in its pockets.
So why do I feel so uncomfortable that YouTube is introducing a paid subscription service, when I'm happy to splurge on its rivals? Matron.
ORIGINALS SIN
Something called YouTube Red was launched yesterday.
For $10 a month - or whatever the equivalent will be for those of us who aren't in America - you'll be able to watch the videos you already watch, albeit without the adverts on the front, and be able save them to watch offline.
Additionally, the company announced YouTube Originals - a line of programming that features established YouTubers in a variety of longer form shows and movies, some of which will be scripted.
Now, the YouTube Originals thing I can take or leave: some of them, frustratingly, appear to be doing the sorts of things I'd always wanted to do, if anyone had been daft enough to put me in charge of a video games TV show, but none of them feature anybody I'm even slightly interested in. Because, y'know, I'm not really the target demographic of Generation Toob. Which is fine.
BAD TASTE
The whole subscription thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Somehow, YouTube has always felt like possibility. Anyone can use it, anyone can watch it. I get that it needs to make money - it doesn't just exist for the sake of it. Though as it becomes increasingly corporate and institutionalised, I fear it'll lose its relevance. It'll drive away that sort of punk-ish, anything-goes, aesthetic that drew people to it in the first place. And it hammers more of a wedge between creators and their audience.
YouTubers rose in popularity because they seemed to be regular people. As they become bona-fide celebrities - Zoella has her waxwork in Madame Tussaud's now - and appear in films, and "write" books, they're no longer us. They're part of a celebrity machine that none of us really can relate to. And when I say "us", I mean kids who idolise YouTubers. And the rest of us.
And more than that... is that audience ready - or even able - to pay the subscription? The first raft of YouTube Originals feature creators - Lily Singh, Toby Turner, PewDiePie - who have a generally younger fanbase. You can bet there aren't many 16, 17 or 18 year-olds paying for Netflix or Amazon Prime subscriptions - why should YouTube be any different?
More curious still, according to some reports, YouTube's partner creators - popular content creators who receive a cut of ad revenue - who refuse to sign up for Red, will have their videos hidden from the entirety of YouTube. Which feels incredibly heavy-handed. Bullying, even.
It all seems like a misstep, the end of an era. If I, a 76 year-old man, can feel like I'm having my YouTube taken away from me, how does the average 17 year-old feel? The Puppet Masters in their corporate shirtsleeves have seen that there's money to be made, and are interfering in a good thing that has worked up until now - as they always do.
Oh well.
Hey - subscribe to Digitiser2000's YouTube Channel, or at least watch some of our videos. They're not as bad as you assume, and I like doing them. And tell me what you wish to see on there, because at the moment I'm flailing around like a penguin in a microwave.
Something called YouTube Red was launched yesterday.
For $10 a month - or whatever the equivalent will be for those of us who aren't in America - you'll be able to watch the videos you already watch, albeit without the adverts on the front, and be able save them to watch offline.
Additionally, the company announced YouTube Originals - a line of programming that features established YouTubers in a variety of longer form shows and movies, some of which will be scripted.
Now, the YouTube Originals thing I can take or leave: some of them, frustratingly, appear to be doing the sorts of things I'd always wanted to do, if anyone had been daft enough to put me in charge of a video games TV show, but none of them feature anybody I'm even slightly interested in. Because, y'know, I'm not really the target demographic of Generation Toob. Which is fine.
BAD TASTE
The whole subscription thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Somehow, YouTube has always felt like possibility. Anyone can use it, anyone can watch it. I get that it needs to make money - it doesn't just exist for the sake of it. Though as it becomes increasingly corporate and institutionalised, I fear it'll lose its relevance. It'll drive away that sort of punk-ish, anything-goes, aesthetic that drew people to it in the first place. And it hammers more of a wedge between creators and their audience.
YouTubers rose in popularity because they seemed to be regular people. As they become bona-fide celebrities - Zoella has her waxwork in Madame Tussaud's now - and appear in films, and "write" books, they're no longer us. They're part of a celebrity machine that none of us really can relate to. And when I say "us", I mean kids who idolise YouTubers. And the rest of us.
And more than that... is that audience ready - or even able - to pay the subscription? The first raft of YouTube Originals feature creators - Lily Singh, Toby Turner, PewDiePie - who have a generally younger fanbase. You can bet there aren't many 16, 17 or 18 year-olds paying for Netflix or Amazon Prime subscriptions - why should YouTube be any different?
More curious still, according to some reports, YouTube's partner creators - popular content creators who receive a cut of ad revenue - who refuse to sign up for Red, will have their videos hidden from the entirety of YouTube. Which feels incredibly heavy-handed. Bullying, even.
It all seems like a misstep, the end of an era. If I, a 76 year-old man, can feel like I'm having my YouTube taken away from me, how does the average 17 year-old feel? The Puppet Masters in their corporate shirtsleeves have seen that there's money to be made, and are interfering in a good thing that has worked up until now - as they always do.
Oh well.
Hey - subscribe to Digitiser2000's YouTube Channel, or at least watch some of our videos. They're not as bad as you assume, and I like doing them. And tell me what you wish to see on there, because at the moment I'm flailing around like a penguin in a microwave.
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