[HN Gopher] Why are so many car YouTubers quitting?
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Why are so many car YouTubers quitting?
Author : rkwz
Score : 24 points
Date : 2024-08-11 16:53 UTC (6 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.theverge.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.theverge.com)
| TylerE wrote:
| Seems fairly simple. The collectible car market was insanely
| bubbled during Covid, with ma y things double in price or more
| what they weee gen a year or so earlier. This attracted a ton of
| people who rushed to start making video content about these cars.
|
| That bubble has truely burst, and now those same cars are back to
| pre-pandemic levels.
| redserk wrote:
| That's nowhere close to what the article is claiming, can you
| cite anything backing this assertion?
| sidewndr46 wrote:
| Collectible cars have nothing to do with it. Most 'car'
| youtubers aren't even remotely into cars that are collectible.
| Jay Leno would be the obvious exception
| financetechbro wrote:
| Confidently incorrect take
| sschueller wrote:
| I noticed that the car YouTubers I watch all recently got
| divorced. Very odd.
| dfex wrote:
| Creative souls build successful startup, but sell to big
| media/private equity, then instantly regret it when big
| media/private equity squeezes fun out of it and want ROI. News at
| 11.
| postpawl wrote:
| Seems like a lot of the people quitting were just workers and
| producers that never had any real ownership stake in the
| business. After Covid they were already working like individual
| creators, so going and doing their own thing doesn't seem like
| that big of a change.
| manyxcxi wrote:
| You've captured the lions share of the problem.
|
| My personal hobbies as well as an off-road race we started
| amongst friends years ago accidentally becoming insanely
| popular has lead to me getting to know and becoming friends
| with auto related content creators, TV personalities, and
| professional drivers through the last decade.
|
| - A bunch of money came in just before but especially during
| the pandemic and the capitalists want ROI.
|
| - This means the creators don't get to do all of the fun stuff
| they used to do, and now have to justify and get approval for
| projects that they used to just do on a whim.
|
| - Things get "grown-up" quick and the internal culture goes
| from likeminded folks "just figuring it out" to planning,
| meetings, and being forced to produce more repeatable and
| formulaic content on tighter schedules. Sometimes working with
| brands you do not want to work with, but have to.
|
| - A lot of these deals happened 2-4 years ago and earn-out
| clauses have hit their expiration. Now they can bail and
| realize as much gain as they can.
|
| - Some people are leaving because they realize how royally
| screwed they've gotten.
|
| Finally, the whole industry is a grind. I'm only tangentially
| related to it as a hobby and seeing what my friends have to do
| seems EXHAUSTING.
| squarefoot wrote:
| Not surprising at all. If your creation is being bought by some
| entity whose raison d'etre is to maximize profits, you shouldn't
| be surprised if they behave like an entity that wants to maximize
| profits. When success comes in the form of a great offer, just
| sell and move your creativity elsewhere before becoming part of
| the enshittification; loyal followers will follow and you'll keep
| your reputation intact.
| jerlam wrote:
| In January this year, a lot of independent YouTubers, unrelated
| to private equity and cars, also quit:
|
| https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/20/24044533/mkbhd-weighs-in-...
|
| The car YouTubers are just a little behind the curve.
|
| There was a pandemic bubble in 2020 - 2021 where ad spending on
| video was huge, tech companies increased their headcount
| substantially, and creators were riding high. Twitch and YouTube
| were dropping eight-figure exclusive contracts left and right.
| Those days are over, the money isn't there anymore, and we are
| seeing the tail end.
| djmips wrote:
| I don't really like the production values / content is these
| channels and don't watch them. I don't know but maybe they are at
| the mercy of the 'algorithm' and huge ambition. The channels I do
| watch seem more stable and somewhat more satisfied with their
| views.
|
| Then there's Cleetus McFarland which has diversified and taken
| business to the real world but even they have been pressured by
| the popularity of 'stupid' auto related channels* to make more
| jackass style videos.
|
| *WhistlinDiesel
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