More than 500 hours of video are uploaded onto Youtube every minute.

With over 1 billion active users each month and 5 billion videos watched per day, it’s safe to say that this Youtube thing is pretty big.

In terms of making a living off this platform, though, things are just getting interesting. It’s estimated that the number of channels earning six figures per year is up has been increasing by 50% each year for the past 5 years. Further, the world’s highest paid Youtube stars earned a combined total of $54.5 million in 2015.

Earning through Youtube is peculiar in nature – you have to factor in views, sponsorships, advertisements, clicks and a bazillion other variables. This video does an excellent job of outlining how the basic payment process functions.

What is clear, though, is that unless creators have some sort of Patreon account where there exists a monthly income stream, aka: a salary, there’s tremendous irregularity and inconsistency in receiving your cash.

For your regular employee at a company, this is how the payment process functions:

Note that the above doesn’t factor in bonuses or reflect individuals that earn their livings based on commission. Now, below is what you’d expect a Youtuber’s earnings over time to look like:

The important thing to note here is that these spikes, ie. the variables in time that cause for substantial changes in amount earned, are all positive in the above graph. However, it is just as possible that they can be “negative” spikes too:

Such negative spikes for creators are problematic due to the lack of financial security that making a living off Youtube entails. Make no mistake: such negative spikes occur in everyone’s lives, Youtube creator or not. A regular employee too can get injured, overtaken by his co-workers, cease to learn new tools and skills, etc..

But the difference is that there is usually some sort of insurance or leave package that allows for flexibility and ensures the employee isn’t completely on his own. For a creator, if anything goes wrong – say, even a car accident whilst you’re “vlogging” (car insurance for vloggers is surprisingly hard to get) – the downside is much larger.

Is there a way to add some sort of security to the Youtuber’s lifestyle? Some sort of insurance or “savings” plan?

Youtube creators are not employees of Youtube – but why should this be the case, and what’s stopping an independent private party from offering the same benefits directly to the creator?

An Idea

A Youtube Benefits Package would aim to add structure, and most fundamentally some sort of security to the Youtuber’s earnings. It would aim to function more or less like this:

• There would obviously be minimum requirements to be eligible for the Benefits package. Perhaps only creators that are making $100,000 or above in revenue allowed.

• “Regular” jobs allow coverages for retirement plans, disability plans, medical insurance and a wide variety of other such benefits. The Youtube Benefits Package would have to be specifically aimed towards the creator’s channel and his/her needs. For instance, a gaming channel is extremely different to a vlogging channel. The gamer may need coverage for his vision (strain and fatigue to his eyes) whereas the vlogger might require particular coverage in case he breaks his leg testing out new skiis (think Casey Neistat).

• Retirement plans may also be extremely appealing. A portion of revenue earned would go into a retirement fund that would be eligible for interest, non-taxable, and also allow certain “bonuses” that Youtube may throw out – subscriber based milestones, view count, engagement achievements etc..

• These benefits would help address the negative spikes that the creator may experience; well, it would address most of them apart from the only one that would be deserved – if the creator actually starts to produce poor content that his audience doesn’t like anymore.

The graph below showcases how these benefits may play out:

How does Youtube benefit?

Ultimately, the only way I see this benefitting Youtube is through increased quality of content, allowing both creators as well as the company to pocket more. This scheme would also you’d assume attract a whole new wave of hopeful individuals – it would revolutionize the way “creators” are perceived and allow for more risks to be taken. These are all factors that would strengthen this ecosystem that Youtube has created.

More realistically, though, I see such a benefits or insurance package, or combination thereof, being offered mainly by private, independent parties directly to the creator (assuming the legalities workout). Such thinking may also be extended to freelancers in general in the sharing economy that we live in – think Uber drivers or Postmates delivery men.