YouTube CEO Attacks Key Creator Issues, Including Copyright Claims and Trends



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YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki today posted a blog post that addresses some of creators' most important concerns and frustrations, including the removal of copyright ads from their videos, the Trends section. The site does not show the most popular downloads and comments deleted for family vloggers.

Wojcicki's blog clearly shows that handling the most consistent complaints from the community was a top priority – and that the main one of these is the copyright claims. The claims of copyright on the videos, which result in YouTubers not earning advertising revenue, are a constant source of aggravation. Many of the situations that Wojcicki indirectly pointed out in the blog come from big creators, like Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson, who talked about losing ad revenue from playing a short excerpt of protected music. His case led Ethan Klein of H3H3 – with whom Wojcicki recently met to voice his concerns – to describe this period as the "worst period on YouTube" in terms of copyright.

"We were already examining this issue, but it was vital to hear it directly from the creators," wrote Wojcicki. "We are looking at ways to strike the right balance between copyright owners and creators."

Creators also complained that the YouTube Trends section, an important page for viewer search, often omits their videos. Instead, it features sports events, movie trailers, video clips, and late-night clips. These complaints are not new, but Wojcicki's blog marks the first time a YouTube leader has been responding at length to these frustrations.

To respond to the complaints, Wojcicki said that at least half of all trend videos would now come from YouTubers, "the rest from music and traditional media." That does not mean that an extremely popular video will appear on the list of trends, but it addresses concerns that YouTube is not giving priority to its own creators. Wojcicki says YouTube is already "close" to hitting that representation figure.

Wojcicki said that "the trends were aimed at showing content that a wide range of viewers would find interesting," adding that the YouTube team "pays particular attention to the safety of these videos, and we make sure that They do not contain any vulgar or mature content. " It's perhaps why a video of a creator like Donaldson or Shane Dawson could rack up millions of views in 24 hours, but not appear in the site's trend list.

YouTube's strategy team is also considering adding more detailed instructions for advertiser-friendly content, Wojcicki said. YouTubers have been frustrated by the lack of clarity on the content that can make their video ineligible for advertising. Complex rules around a seemingly simple problem, such as swearing in, made the current guidelines difficult to follow.

Wojcicki addressed one of the last points, namely the company's decision to remove comments from videos containing children. YouTube's decision to do so was made earlier this year, after companies suspended advertising spending when people discovered that predators were using commentary sections on YouTube videos to send disturbing messages about children. Since then, many creators have complained about deleting their comments, but Mr Wojcicki said that it was a decision made by YouTube.

"Every day, creators tell me how useful comments are to interact with fans, get feedback, and help guide future videos," she wrote. In the end, said Wojcicki, "it's a compromise we made because we believe that protecting children on our platform should be the most important guiding principle."

Wojcicki's letter to the creators arrives just as 20 people are in New York for the Company's Creator Summit (an event where YouTubers can meet and chat while chatting with YouTube employees) and two days before the Upfront forum. Upfront is a way for YouTube to speak directly to advertisers and creators, and it's clear that it's about a subject on which Wojcicki is thinking. This message also reflects the continuing importance of creators on YouTube – a major topic of conversation in the community in recent years. As YouTube begins to look more like a modern TV channel for Generation Z, Wojcicki's blog tries to remind creators that they still count the most.

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