> So...what next? How do creators get paid?

A decade ago, I bought a used textbook on statistics, published in 1998. Highly recommended by many, written by a UCB Statistics professor (now deceased).

Total Book Price: US$ 3.94 Shipping: US$ 3.00

For just a smidge over $5 dollars, I got a world class textbook written by one of the best educators on the planet. In the era of coronavirus, I've finally sat down every night with it and have put in about 40 hours reading it (mostly doing the exercises), checking out some of the citations and references, making Anki cards, etc.

As best I can tell, creators get paid by putting in high quality work of relevance and lasting value. Your average Youtuber ain't it.