Stars are now getting a fortune from Google to go along with their YouTube fame. Google announced that it is spending a lot of money to get some of YouTube's most famous stars to help them develop new show ideas.
YouTube personalities rose to fame from their "bedrooms to billboards" with the help of the short video format. The new video projects that the Youtube stars will be helping develop are rumored to be in new formats, as the company experiments with new ideas.
"Now, we feel the time is right to make another important investment in our creators," writes Alex Carloss, head of YouTube originals. "That's why we've decided to fund new content from some of our top creators, helping them not only fulfill their creative ambitions but also deliver new material to their millions of fans on YouTube."
YouTube personalities aren't the only ones cashing in. A video producer in talks with YouTube reported that the company was offering Hollywood producers promotion and "single-digit millions" for a 10-part series.
YouTube will invest millions in the big stars to continue to create high-quality content for the video site, but also to keep stars working on YouTube instead of leaving for other platforms such as Facebook.
A specialist team with Facebook has been recruiting YouTube users to post videos on Facebook instead, and has offered funding for the video creators as well as audience development.
YouTube has spent over $100 million to get video creators to make "channels" of programming that mirrors television.
YouTube stars make money through Google advertising on the site, although many complain that the site takes a high percentage of generated revenue. The personalities often make more money through outside sponsorships.
More than one billion viewers visit YouTube each month.
