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Comment by fragmede | Hacker News Reader

How does that get money to the people making the videos I like watching?

I'd suggest getting them money through patreon, kofi or whatever patrons system they use instead. That's much safer for them than YT ad money and helps them feel less pressure when they get demonetized or whatnot.

I probably watch too many channels to pay them each outside youtube, it will become quickly logistically unmanageable, if not unaffordable. The maximum I can do is probably 5 channels or so.

If there are that many channels you watch regularly, what slice of the pie does each one get from your youtube subscription, a few cents?

You could possibly pick one channel you like each month and give it a one-time $5 donation, which would be equivalent to years of ad revenue from a single viewer.

This also involves a significantly larger number of people getting my payment details, actual proper name, etc. Even if I wanted to pay individual channels, I'd probably still do it through the YouTube channel membership feature.

Next level is to reach out directly and ask them if you can just sponsor directly with said micropayment ($20/month). SUrprisingly, most say no.

Your special kindness is not worth $20/month to even moderately successful creators.

They still get views and subscribers, which increases the popularity of the channel, making it more likely to get recommended.

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