So the new YouTube Red Subscription Service is launching on October 28, 2015, but what does this actually mean to you and more importantly, to the content creators?

What does this “service” provide? Well for $9.99 per month you get:

-ad-free videos
-offline video and music listening
-background play – keep videos, music playing while using other apps or shutting your screen off
-Google Play Music subscription

So it all sounds awesome with more choices…that is unless you’re a creator of content. Right now YouTubers in Google’s partnership program, which is currently the Top YouTube channels, must sign with the Red Subscription Deal otherwise they risk having all their videos hidden from public view…basically no one can see your videos on YouTube. Great! reminds me of when they forced Google+ down everyone’s throats but then again what can creators do? Unless you own the platform you’re in, whether that’s YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc… You have to play by their rules so what that means to me is less freedom for creators.

And as more content consumption is moving away from TV to the Internet, more “deals” like these will become common just like how it has been for traditional media agreements in all fields of entertainment. So how does this affect content creators? Well I think creators should view all these platforms as tools and not providers for living the life they want. The wonderful thing about technology and competition is that you’ll almost always have a choice. For example, if YouTube keeps getting more and more restrictive, maybe other video services like Vimeo or even Periscope might have their moment to shine! And that’s a freedom of choice that I’ll be glad to use.

-Geek Outside!