YouTube Entices Podcasters With a $50,000 Bounty of Switching to All-Video

Ryan Epps, Tech Times 07 March 2022, 09:03 pm

Content creation platform YouTube is attempting to enliven its podcast space even more following various maneuvers in the industry. Google hired a YouTube podcast executive relatively recently, that being Kai Chuk, who long since had been under YouTube's wing for the past decade on media partnerships.

Now, the tech giant is only expanding upon its efforts with various funding mechanisms that seem on the surface like basic YouTube podcast grants. According to Bloomberg, there are two specific tiers represented in the new program, the base of which is a $50,000 offer to individual podcasters willing to make the leap into video, whereas a secondary tier focuses on more large-form networks with both $200,000 and $300,000 on the table.

The large sums of cash aren't merely there to wet appetites, as the founding costs for such a move from audio to video is quite astronomical. Content creators and live streamers typically pay quite a premium when it comes to home-based broadcasting tech, which can range across the board in terms of lighting, audio setup, relatively good cameras, and more.

Beyond the coffers, though, the bounty proves even more that YouTube vies to become a dominant player in all things content, no matter what form it takes. To do this, it is building out tools for such content streams as shorts, live streaming, and podcasts, the latter of which may well be among the most important in its ever-thriving ecosystem.

Spotify alone made a whopping $1.31 billion on podcast ad spending in 2021, which was up by 51.3%. How elevating the content to video will aid in YouTube's domination remains as of yet hazy, but the marketplace is there and ripe for the taking. For perspective, although only one example of an already well-established individual, the H3 Podcast, which is set primarily on YouTube with only one day reserved for members only, makes about $500,000 a month.

YouTube has its hands in nearly every pie. Its YouTube Gaming arm is now thriving to some degree with the new inclusion of Ludwig, among the most popular live streamers who took the leap from Twitch to YouTube last year. The platform has deals with several others among the most notable faces in broadcasting, including Valkyrae, Dr DisRespect, and CouRage.

YouTube also has its still-in-beta Shorts concept, a sort of rip off of Tik-Tok, itself already a rip-off of Vine in some degrees. Although it doesn't have its own specific platform outside of the normal video content, Shorts are still easier to navigate through its carousel feature and could allow newer video-based podcasters a forum to grow their audience.

Plus, YouTube Music and YouTube Kids both add a layer to the ever-burgeoning ad content ecosystem that Google is attempting to build out through YouTube. Thus, a YouTube app dedicated specifically to podcasts doesn't sound all-too far fetched in the near-term.

The aforementioned Spotify spent a hefty $100 million to make the maligned Joe Rogan Experience an exclusive on its platform. While Google isn't tossing out numbers in that ballpark, it does seem willing to work with both smaller and larger creators to help build out their own success, which seems a more positive way of structuring the evolution of its community.

Not all grant holders will make it. Money doesn't equal success, especially in the content creation realm, but taking something that is already well-beloved on an audio level and raising the stakes with video should ideally only enhance the content twofold, but it doesn't always work as such. YouTube is already a dominant player in the content creation realm, so it only makes sense since it tries to bulk up its already ever-expanding lineup of video-centric podcasts and shows.

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Written by Ryan Epps

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