Gamasutra survey: Contacting video game YouTubers
1 / 7
Q14 What is your opinion of YouTuberscharging money to devs for videocoverage? Is it ethical? How widespreaddo you think YouTubers askingfor/receiving money for covering specificgames is?
Answered: 119 Skipped: 22# Responses Date
1 it seems a little risky for the integrity of the review but youtubers need money covering games evenin simple gamplay videos are expensive6/18/2014 9:33 PM2 Ethical, only if it's a small fee. 5-15usd. Though a youtuber shouldn't charge money to get a gamefor free...6/18/2014 9:50 AM3 Bigger youtubers are mainly PR mouthpeices. As such, advertising rules seem normal as long as itsdisclosed via the youtuber 6/18/2014 7:30 AM4 We - video creators - live in complicated times. It is expected from our work to be free. Copyrightholders don't want us to monetize, no one likes Ads, no one likes paid content but we invest our freetime into covering the games we love, want to share - basically give free PR for the game itself. If aYoutuber asks for money for delivering great content, it's not wrong - it's a compensation.6/18/2014 6:33 AM5 I think they should be avoided like the plague. If a Youtuber wants to make money then they shouldwork hard like the rest of us on the videos. If a developer wants to sponsor a channel then thats upto the developer not the YouTuber 6/18/2014 6:28 AM6 I disagree with it. It does not seem ethical at all as it just seems like a blatant money grab if theyfeel they're not getting compensated enough from Youtube or their partner program. And while Ifeel for those that do this as a full-time job, it's just a drop in the bucket at the end of the day andcan really ruin not only that Youtuber's reputation, but the developer as well (some may see that asthem buying off a Youtuber for a positive spin in coverage). I don't think it's a widespread issue, butI'm not naive enough to think that it NEVER happens. Maybe this happens in about 10% of allcases.6/18/2014 6:26 AM7 I think it's an awful, shit practice that no developer should ever accept. Less widespread thanpeople seem to imply, possibly more widespread than I think, however. I've never seen significantevidence of the extent of this.6/18/2014 6:22 AM8 It should be the other way around. Devs should pay the player for their time and testing the gameon a full-throttle PC during an early build/6/18/2014 6:19 AM9 I think it's totally fine to be paid for coverage, but not if they payment demands you to give apositive impression especially if it misrepresents the game. The best way to handle it would be toagree to cover it, play the game, and give no strong opinion to your audience about a purchasingdecision - - and you should disclose it is a paid promotion.6/18/2014 12:48 AM10 If it's not an opinion piece, but merely coverage. Talking bullet points or just giving information onit, then it's probably something that is fine. Charging for reviews or LP's, I don't think it's wrong, but itreally makes it difficult to judge the intentions of the content creator. I actually think it's very rare, Ithink most people based on the current market A) are small enough where free games is coolenough. B) get enough ad revenue from a free game and 3 hours of work to make it worth it tothem. Being paid ontop of that might not be needed.6/18/2014 12:22 AM11 It seem's a bit wrong to me. A YouTuber should be pretty grateful to simply play the game early atall. I have heard of companies offering payment, haven't heard about a Youtuber who sells their time.6/10/2014 4:30 PM12 I think that's ridiculous. Just play the game, and remain humble. 6/9/2014 3:21 AM
Gamasutra survey: Contacting video game YouTubers
2 / 7
13 I don't think it's ethical. The developers have made that game and are trying to receive some well-deserved recognition for it. They shouldn't have to pay some Youtuber when they have spentcountless hours developing the game and perhaps even money out of their own pockets. If Youtubers really need the money, they should earn it through their subscribers or set up somedonations bin instead of charging game developers.6/7/2014 8:25 PM14 To be honest, while I don't agree with how it's reputedly been handled, as someone that has spendthousands of hours and dollars on making videos and all the accompanying work that has to go intoa channel, researching games, branding, social media, developer relations, emails, comments,collaborations etc... I'm sure the larger youtubers make a living at what they do, but for the smaller channels (even ones with hundreds of videos, great content and overall quality, and years of experience)... If you don't get the numbers, it's a bit of a very expensive and time consuming labour of love, and as awesome as that is it doesn't pay the bills. Asking for donations, patreon, stuff likethat has a lot of taboo in the community as well, it's really difficult to naturally grow a positivecommunity and public personality, to be able to reach a wide audience that trusts your opinionsand wants to spend money on whatever you say is awesome, while also still being able to afford tospend all the time you want on Youtube especially if it doesn't pay well yet, and I think gamedevelopers and PR sometimes take all that work for granted.6/6/2014 1:43 PM15 I think it is unethical. I do not know how widespread it is, but my guess would be that it is fairlyuncommon.6/6/2014 1:18 PM16 Charging money to a dev seems like a weird idea to me, I do not know how widespread this is butwould never require that sort of things. I know promotional deals with publishers are common andI'm fine with them as long as they're branded for what they are but charging devs just sounds wrongand against what all this is supposed to be about.6/6/2014 7:56 AM17 It's a bit too far. I'm all for profiting from your work, but taking payment to play a game in thismanner is a bit like taking a bribe to provide a good review. It feeds dishonesty.6/6/2014 5:52 AM18 If you need money and you get an offer to advertise a good game I think it is worth it. If thedeveloper can't afford to pay YouTubers to promote their games they shouldn't do it6/6/2014 4:50 AM19 I don't see any problems with it as long as any deals don't interfere with the integrity or views of independent Youtubers. I don't want to see Youtubers getting paid to say something thecorporations told them to say.6/5/2014 1:57 PM20 I guess it all depends on how much the Developers are willing to do to get their game out thereand known. I know that if i found a dev asking me to do a video on one of their games and i found itto be a interesting game i would just record it for the fun of recording a great game!6/5/2014 7:43 AM21 If they can get away with that, it's their prerogative. 6/4/2014 7:23 PM22 I think it is perfectly ethical, as long as it remains aboveboard. Viewers should know if gameplaycoverage is sponsored. Reviews, however, should NEVER be paid for,6/4/2014 4:14 PM23 Paid reviews are completely unethical and should not happen (and though only restricted a smallproportion of the YT community they're opinions do carry some weight). Paying for coverage (travel& accomodation) of release events, early previews, junkets, etc. is an ethical grey area. Though notan out and out bad practice it is still going to inevitably bias the YouTuber's opinion.6/4/2014 2:49 PM24 I think Youtubers are offering a service to devs and should get money for it. 6/4/2014 8:45 AM25 YouTube videos are, in a sense, a form of advertising - therefore it makes sense to pay for advertising.6/4/2014 8:02 AM26 No it is not ethical at all. I don't care how big the channel is. Game developers should have gamesplayed because they are good, not because they basically have to pay a bribe.6/4/2014 7:51 AM27 I think it is unethical as most Youtubers record games for fun and not for profit. 6/4/2014 7:14 AM28 It depends how they run their channel/business. Personally, I make videos of games I enjoy, and Ican make money from the ads I have permission to place on those videos. Thedevelopers/publishers could remove that permission, so I see that as the give and take: I advertisetheir product, they allow me to potentially make money. If a YouTuber wants to promote a gamedespite their personal opinions on it, then I can kind of understand charging for it, but I don't reallyagree with it.6/4/2014 6:15 AM29 I personally frown upon this. I feel like it just isn't in the spirit of what we are doing as YouTubers. Iwould suspect that it is probably far more wide spread than it appears.6/4/2014 5:15 AM
Gamasutra survey: Contacting video game YouTubers
3 / 7
30 I do not think it is ethical if it is a direct payment. But I think if developers can/want to supportreviewers/review sites in a near-anonymous way, that helps support the very industry they developfor. I assume youtubers asking for money is pretty widespread. Youtube is a child's toy, and thereare far too few grown ups.6/4/2014 5:15 AM31 I don't think YouTubers should charge developers for coverage. Most can put on advertisementsanyway and they get the game free already. But simply doing a video about a game because youget money if you do, just doesn't seem right to me.6/4/2014 4:46 AM32 As long as they don't charge too much, they are getting paid for what they enjoy doing, which I amall for.6/4/2014 4:14 AM33 It depends if they are going to do a full in depth series supported by the devs maybe some moneywould be good to receive in return. I don't think this is very widespread ATM I haven't heard of anyone I know doing this.6/4/2014 4:04 AM34 It is ethical. It is a much more efficient way of advertising via actual gameplay footage. Plus, our fans love us and want to play the games that we play, therefore these videos bring a much moredirect and consistent return to the company.6/4/2014 4:04 AM35 That is a horrible idea. The people doing that are a sign of a fundamental misunderstanding of what the role of the media is.6/4/2014 3:37 AM36 I think it is not ethical 6/4/2014 3:24 AM37 YouTubers asking for money for coverage is sleazy and borderline unethical. Both the YouTuber and Dev benefit from this coverage and either side asking for additional monetary compensationseems greedy to me. As to how widespread, I don't think that it is. I don't talk with the big channelsbut I know that all of the other LPrs I do communicate with would not do this and also believe thatit's wrong to do.6/3/2014 1:02 PM38 Unethical; A YouTuber should not expect or ask for more than being allowed to monetize thevideos. I would assume it's something not many (reputable channels) try to do, though I alsowouldn't doubt it if there were a list of big channels doing it under the table because they're bigchannels and offer "exposure". However, if the dev studio where hiring for a position to make onlinevideo content for them, it would be different.6/3/2014 9:24 AM39 I dont do it and think early access is enough of a trade off. 6/3/2014 8:18 AM40 If the Youtuber is not monetizing the video through other means than it is somewhat acceptable tome. My only ethical concern with that is there is no market regulation at work when these "back-room" deals are made and no impetus for the Youtuber to reveal to their audience that they havebeen compensated for their time (whereas in the traditional monetization model it is somewhatmore clear that compensation has happened in the form of ad revenue). I do not believe thatyoutubers charging developers directly is a widespread practice to date.6/3/2014 8:06 AM41 It turns their opinion into nothing more than a paid endorsement, if they disclose the payment. If they do not disclose the payment, it is entirely misleading and unethical.6/3/2014 7:34 AM42 It's context dependent. If the dev is paying a big name to play their game on YouTube, not for their opinion, that's just advertising, so long as the YouTuber discloses that the content is being paid for by the dev. If we're talking paying for a review or for a better review, that's not acceptable. Itwouldn't fly in print media and it's no different in video. I know large channels often get offers topromote games for money. I'm not aware of many instances of YouTubers approaching thedeveloper first.6/3/2014 7:23 AM43 Disgusting 6/3/2014 7:17 AM44 Absolutely not ethical. Devs owe us nothing, and we owe the devs nothing. This is a knee-jerkreaction to Content ID matching and the perception of publishers "stealing our money", and I hopethe trend dies soon.6/3/2014 7:00 AM45 I believe it's unethical. We already get money for the views, and personally, I'm not in this for themoney anyway. I can understand why a YouTuber would charge (we all have to make a living and Irespect that), but I feel that in this context, the YouTuber becomes a journalist or a reviewer.Taking money for a review is a slippery slope and untrustworthy.6/3/2014 6:52 AM
|