The videos that don’t work on YouTube and the future of the creator business, with Nebula CEO Dave Wiskus
May 17, 2022 05:00
00:00 / 75:35
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One of our recurring jokes at The Verge is that every YouTuber eventually
makes a video where they talk about how mad they are at YouTube. Whether it’s
demonetization or copyright strikes or just the algorithm changing, YouTubers
have to contend with a big platform that has a lot of power over their
business, and they often don’t have the leverage to push back. On this
episode of Decoder, I’m talking to Dave Wiskus, the CEO of two really
interesting companies: one is called Standard, which is a management company
for YouTubers, and the other is Nebula, an alternative paid streaming platform
where creators can post videos, take a direct cut of the revenue, and
generally fund work that might get lost on YouTube. What really stood out to
me here is that Dave is in the business of making things: this conversation
was really grounded in the reality of the creator business as it exists today
and how that real business can support real people. You’ll hear it when we
talk about Web3 and NFTs a little bit — Dave just thinks that stuff is
bullshit, and he says so because it’s not a business that exists now. That’s
an important dynamic to think about — and one for more platforms to take
seriously. Links: Dave's subscriber tweet Nebula Transcript:
https://www.theverge.com/e/22840704 Credits: Decoder is a production of The
Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Today’s episode was produced
by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Sr Audio Director is Andrew
Marino and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan. Learn more about your
ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Read more
makes a video where they talk about how mad they are at YouTube. Whether it’s
demonetization or copyright strikes or just the algorithm changing, YouTubers
have to contend with a big platform that has a lot of power over their
business, and they often don’t have the leverage to push back. On this
episode of Decoder, I’m talking to Dave Wiskus, the CEO of two really
interesting companies: one is called Standard, which is a management company
for YouTubers, and the other is Nebula, an alternative paid streaming platform
where creators can post videos, take a direct cut of the revenue, and
generally fund work that might get lost on YouTube. What really stood out to
me here is that Dave is in the business of making things: this conversation
was really grounded in the reality of the creator business as it exists today
and how that real business can support real people. You’ll hear it when we
talk about Web3 and NFTs a little bit — Dave just thinks that stuff is
bullshit, and he says so because it’s not a business that exists now. That’s
an important dynamic to think about — and one for more platforms to take
seriously. Links: Dave's subscriber tweet Nebula Transcript:
https://www.theverge.com/e/22840704 Credits: Decoder is a production of The
Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Today’s episode was produced
by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Sr Audio Director is Andrew
Marino and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan. Learn more about your
ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Read more
One of our recurring jokes at The Verge is that every YouTuber eventually
makes a video where they talk about how mad they are at YouTube. Whether it’s
demonetization or copyright strikes or just the algorithm changing, YouTubers
have to contend with a big platform that has a lot of power over their
business, and they often don’t have the leverage to push back. On this
episode of Decoder, I’m talking to Dave Wiskus, the CEO of two really
interesting companies: one is called Standard, which is a management company
for YouTubers, and the other is Nebula, an alternative paid streaming platform
where creators can post videos, take a direct cut of the revenue, and
generally fund work that might get lost on YouTube. What really stood out to
me here is that Dave is in the business of making things: this conversation
was really grounded in the reality of the creator business as it exists today
and how that real business can support real people. You’ll hear it when we
talk about Web3 and NFTs a little bit — Dave just thinks that stuff is
bullshit, and he says so because it’s not a business that exists now. That’s
an important dynamic to think about — and one for more platforms to take
seriously. Links: Dave's subscriber tweet Nebula Transcript:
https://www.theverge.com/e/22840704 Credits: Decoder is a production of The
Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Today’s episode was produced
by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Sr Audio Director is Andrew
Marino and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan. Learn more about your
ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
makes a video where they talk about how mad they are at YouTube. Whether it’s
demonetization or copyright strikes or just the algorithm changing, YouTubers
have to contend with a big platform that has a lot of power over their
business, and they often don’t have the leverage to push back. On this
episode of Decoder, I’m talking to Dave Wiskus, the CEO of two really
interesting companies: one is called Standard, which is a management company
for YouTubers, and the other is Nebula, an alternative paid streaming platform
where creators can post videos, take a direct cut of the revenue, and
generally fund work that might get lost on YouTube. What really stood out to
me here is that Dave is in the business of making things: this conversation
was really grounded in the reality of the creator business as it exists today
and how that real business can support real people. You’ll hear it when we
talk about Web3 and NFTs a little bit — Dave just thinks that stuff is
bullshit, and he says so because it’s not a business that exists now. That’s
an important dynamic to think about — and one for more platforms to take
seriously. Links: Dave's subscriber tweet Nebula Transcript:
https://www.theverge.com/e/22840704 Credits: Decoder is a production of The
Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Today’s episode was produced
by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Sr Audio Director is Andrew
Marino and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan. Learn more about your
ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
