The idea of sitting at home and earning a respectable paycheck by making YouTube videos may sound like the dream job for many but truth be told, it's not all that glamorous. In fact, it's becoming less and less sustainable thanks a myriad of reasons as outlined in a recent New York Times piece.
Despite the fact that 31-year-old Olga Kay has earned between $100,000 to $130,000 in each of the last three years, it's no cake walk. The do-it-yourself entertainer plays host to multiple channels and has even transformed her home into a mini studio. The living room is now a set for Olga Kay Games, the bedroom has been transformed into a space to film her make-up tips channel and the hallway outside the bedroom? That's where editing takes place.
Kay manages to pump out around 20 videos each week. Having to wake up each morning and try to think of what can keep you relevant for another year is very stressful, she notes.
Like other full-time YouTube content creators, Kay worries about the dropping prices that advertisers are willing to pay, the massive amount of content on the site, how much it costs to produce higher-quality content and of course, YouTube's cut of the revenue.
The company didn't provide details although several content creators pegged the host's cut at 45 percent. And when you factor in that content creators are the ones doing most of the work - hiring talent, coming up with concepts, doing marketing and even editing content, the idea of getting paid to play Grand Theft Auto V and filming the whole experience suddenly isn't quite as tempting as it once was.