YouTube and Revenue-Sharing

YouTube isn't sharing revenue with just anybody who posts a video, as of Thursday, but only a few selected creatives like LisaNova and HappySlip. So the upshot seems to be, if you're an unknown who makes the next 'Evolution of Dance,' you might still have to stand by and watch as million of people view it on YouTube -- without getting a cut of the action. Once you've established yourself, then you can get paid.

I am proud to say I broke this story in Variety two weeks ago (and also here on CinemaTech) ... and while YouTube media reps didn't supply any sort of comment for that story, they indicated to me that I was totally off-base.

Here's where I was wrong: I said it could happen as soon as the week of April 23rd. But it didn't happen until the week of April 30th.

Here's more coverage from InformationWeek and Bloomberg News.

YouTube rival Revver issued a statement that said, "Today’s announcement is further validation for the model that Revver pioneered the very first day we went live. However, Revver does not bar any potential user, big or small, from making money through our service.

Believing that all video artists and owners should be allowed to share in the revenue shifting to social media sites, we have established a level playing field for anyone who has something of value or of interest to share."