YouTube and Its Imbalanced Business Practices

YouTube and Its Imbalanced Business Practices

I’ve been a long-time user of YouTube, but until recently, I never considered uploading my own original videos to the platform. Years ago, I did post a few commercial clips, but nothing that I personally created. Recently, I decided to give it a try, uploading my own content on a trial basis, just to see whether it could gain any traction or popularity. To be honest, it’s far from easy to get noticed.

Creating content for YouTube is an incredibly demanding process. It involves countless hours of work: recording, editing, uploading, and then promoting your videos. And by "promotion," I don’t mean simply sharing a link. It includes writing articles, building backlinks on various sites, researching relevant keywords, engaging with people on social media, and posting content across those platforms. It’s a highly time-consuming and complex effort.

On top of that, if you're new to content creation, you’ll likely need to learn a wide range of video editing and content production tools, which can be both stressful and exhausting. Even after investing 10 to 15 hours a day, you may still see barely any views or subscribers. It’s a full-time job with no guaranteed return.

Many creators, myself included, have noticed a troubling pattern: even high-quality videos from new or small creators often go unnoticed, while content from large companies can reach millions of views within hours. This leads to the growing belief that YouTube’s algorithm is heavily biased in favor of big corporations and well-established channels, making it nearly impossible for smaller creators to grow organically.

Another controversial issue is YouTube's advertising policy for new channels. It’s been widely reported that YouTube now places ads even on videos from non-monetized channels and keeps 100% of the revenue. This is because creators don’t earn anything until they are accepted into the YouTube Partner Program. However, joining this program requires meeting strict criteria: a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours within the past 12 months. Achieving this organically is extremely difficult, especially since many viewers are reluctant to subscribe to new or lesser-known channels.

Even more concerning are reports suggesting that YouTube might be suppressing growth for new creators by disabling the "Subscribe" button on their videos. Whether intentional or a glitch, it adds to the sense that new creators are being sidelined. I’ve shared more thoughts on this issue at the end of this piece.

On a broader level, YouTube’s approach raises important ethical questions. I’ve read troubling claims that YouTube now asserts ownership over videos uploaded to its platform. That’s an absurd stance. Just because a creator uploads their video to YouTube does not mean the platform owns it. If this were taken to court, such a claim could be easily overturned, regardless of what’s buried in the fine print of their terms and conditions.

To draw an analogy: if someone leaves personal belongings in a rented office or a shopping mall, the property owner has no legal right to claim ownership of those items. Similarly, creators retain ownership of their videos. If YouTube truly wants to claim ownership, they should be paying creators for their content. Otherwise, the platform is simply exploiting user-generated content to generate revenue without offering fair compensation.

If YouTube believes it’s entitled to own content uploaded by creators, then the fair approach would be to hire creators directly, offer them contracts and pay them salaries in exchange for exclusive rights to their work. But YouTube does not offer anything for free. Their entire business model is built on user engagement, viewers watching videos made by creators and monetizing that engagement through ads. Without creators uploading content and viewers watching it, YouTube wouldn’t make a dime.

Shady Revenue-Sharing Practices

What makes YouTube’s policy particularly problematic is that they don’t share any revenue with creators unless they qualify for the Partner Program. And as mentioned, the requirements, 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time in 12 months, are extremely difficult to achieve through organic growth alone.

To make matters worse, it appears that YouTube may be intentionally making it harder for new creators to reach those goals. Some have noticed that the "Subscribe" button is disabled on their videos, effectively blocking potential subscribers. Whether this is a technical issue or an intentional move, it reflects poorly on the platform and raises serious concerns about transparency and fairness.

I’ve outlined further thoughts on this at the end of this article, explaining why I believe YouTube may be manipulating performance metrics to limit revenue sharing.

Video: NewZest Media

YouTube’s Imbalanced Ad Revenue Strategy and Policy Concerns

YouTube’s ad revenue sharing strategy is significantly unbalanced, especially when it comes to new and small channels. A video creator can spend countless hours planning, shooting, editing, and uploading content, only to receive absolutely nothing in return, unless they qualify for the YouTube Partner Program. This is not just unfair; it’s an outdated and exploitative approach that doesn't align with modern standards of ethical digital platforms.

If YouTube doesn’t intend to share ad revenue with new creators, then it shouldn't run ads on their videos. It’s that simple. I personally attempted to disable ads on my own content following the steps outlined in Google’s official support resources, but it seems that YouTube has quietly removed that option. Despite the fact that I receive no share of the advertising income, ads continue to run on my videos, videos that took hours or even days of work to create. This is not just unfair, it feels like creators are being taken advantage of.

This kind of policy reflects a deeper issue in YouTube’s business model. Under the guise of copyright enforcement, the platform routinely removes videos from smaller creators, often citing vague or inconsistent reasons. Meanwhile, YouTube continues to profit from those very creators by running ads on their content, even when no revenue is being shared. That’s a clear double standard. Monetizing someone’s original work without offering compensation is not only unethical, it can be interpreted as a form of copyright infringement itself. Any creator could challenge this in court, and it's likely that YouTube would struggle to defend its position, regardless of the fine print in its terms of service.

If YouTube insists on placing ads on videos from new channels, there are more equitable options available:

1. Automatically enroll new creators in revenue-sharing (even if they haven't met the Partner Program requirements yet), or

2. Accumulate their ad revenue in escrow and release it once they qualify as partners.

3. Set a time-based release: if a creator doesn't meet the Partner Program criteria within a year, they should still receive the ad revenue their content has generated during that time.

Moreover, the lack of direct support is frustrating. There’s no public email, contact number, or efficient way to reach YouTube for such concerns. Hence, I’m writing this open note in the hope that someone from the platform reads and considers these points seriously.

Inconsistent Content Moderation

Another issue I’ve encountered is inconsistency in YouTube’s content moderation, particularly regarding nudity or so-called “inappropriate” content. One of my videos, which simply showed typical beach life with nothing explicit or offensive, was taken down for violating the nudity policy. However, countless similar videos remain available on the platform, some even featuring adult entertainers or sexually suggestive thumbnails and content.

If YouTube is going to enforce a strict policy on nudity, it should apply consistently across all channels, regardless of whether the channel is new or well-established. If a video does violate community guidelines, YouTube should allow the creator to edit or remove the offending part, not immediately delete the video without any chance for correction or appeal.

Questionable Statistics and Subscriber Issues

On top of all this, I’ve noticed irregularities in my video analytics. For example, my total watch hours and view counts have decreased from one day to the next, which simply doesn't make sense. Watch time and views should only go up, not reverse.

I’ve also observed serious issues with subscriptions. I’ve asked several people on social media to subscribe to my channel, and many confirmed they did. Yet, those new subscribers did not reflect in my channel’s total subscriber count. Some users even reported that the Subscribe button was disabled on my videos, something that should never happen unless done deliberately.

If true, this raises serious concerns that YouTube may be manipulating statistics or restricting certain functionalities for new creators, possibly to delay or prevent them from qualifying for monetization. That would not only be unethical, but it would also be a direct conflict with the values of transparency and fairness that platforms like YouTube claim to uphold.

Final Thoughts

As previously mentioned, there’s no clear channel to address these issues directly with YouTube. So, I’m writing this as a public appeal: please reconsider your ad revenue policies, content moderation guidelines, and ensure equal treatment for all creators, regardless of their channel size.

Creators are the backbone of your platform. Without their content, there are no viewers. Without viewers, there’s no ad revenue. It’s time YouTube acknowledges the contributions of every creator, not just the big names and begins to treat all channels with fairness, transparency, and respect.

I hope YouTube seriously considers these suggestions, because common sense and fairness should prevail.

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