YouTube may share revenue with users

[Mercury]

This is a nice idea but at this point... why?! They've already captured a HUGE video marketshare.

January 29, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- Video-sharing site YouTube Inc. may start paying users for their content, one of the company's co-founders said in a video displayed on the site.

"In terms of paying users revenue against content they're uploading, we're definitely going to move in that direction," said Chad Hurley, YouTube co-founder and CEO, in a video that appears to have been shot during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

He did not offer details about how much users might be able to earn or on what basis they might be paid.

YouTube wanted to build a large enough community before beginning to pay users for their content, he said. "We didn't want to build a system that was motivated by monetary reward. When you start giving money to people from Day One ... the people you do attract will just switch to the next provider that's paying more," he said. "We feel we're at the scale now that we'll be able to do that and still have a true community around video."

The system might work in such a way that a video creator who sets a video against music could share revenue with the record label that owns the copyright on the music.


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[dgridley]

Revenue sharing is a great idea.. attracts a larger user base and promotes quality as well. Better quality means more views = more revenue!

YouTube needs to keep it's user base in the wake of all the recent Tube wannabe's... revenue sharing is one way to do it.

[Lyte]

I guess... but really, how many go there for the fractions of pennies they might make? I think the average user won't give a hoot. Maybe those who are into taking/publishing videos hardcore will benefit.

Lyte