MEDIA FOLLOW THIS Social media entertainment – the kind that has seen huge growth on YouTube and other platforms – needs understanding if there is to be any measured policy response, writes STUART CUNNINGHAM from an Australian perspective ver the past 10 years or so, in the midst of all 1+ million; 2,000+ Australian YouTube channels the cacophony of change we are well familiar earned between $1,000 and $100,000 and more than with, a new creative industry was born. With 100 channels earned more than $100,000. More O my collaborator David Craig, a veteran than 550,000 hours of video were uploaded by Hollywood executive now teaching at the University Australian creators and over 90% of the followers of of Southern California Annenberg School for Australian channels were international. Communication and Journalism, I have been That’s only YouTube, and only the programmatic examining the birth and early childhood of what advertising revenue that can be tracked by Google. we call social media entertainment. It is peopled by A Google-funded study by AlphaBeta2 estimates that cultural leaders, entertainers and activists most of the number of content creators in Australia has whom you may be very unfamiliar with... Here more than doubled over the past 15 years, almost are some of them – Hank Green, Casey Neistat, wholly driven by the entry of 230,000 new creators PewDiePie, Tyler Oakley. of online video content. The same study estimates We understand social media entertainment to be that online video has created a A$6 billion an emerging industry based on previously amateur consumer surplus (the benefit that consumers get creators professionalising and monetising their in excess of what they have paid for that service). content across multiple social media platforms to build global fan communities and incubate their IMPACT ON POLICY own media brands. What’s all this got to do with regulation, The work has taken three years and has taken competition and global content markets? us to nine countries, but the best moment was The big social media platforms (Google/YouTube, as I lined up as an enthusiastic early bird at the Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch and others) Melbourne Convention Centre for Australia’s first are spaces where an awful VidCon show in September 2017, along with several Over 3 million lot of Australian content hundred tweeners, many with their mums and is being distributed to the dads, all prepped to get to interact with their YouTube creators world by creators such as favourite creators. A 30-something guy walked down globally receive the Van Vuuren brothers, the line, looked at me relieved and said, “Just as well some level of Wengie, and SketchSHE. – I thought I’d be the oldest person here.” And while it is certainly This emerging industry started soon after the remuneration from premature to bracket acquisition by Google of YouTube in 2006, and their content. social media concurrent with the launch of Twitter and their entertainment in the counterparts in China, Youku and Weibo. We know same class of content that that more than 3 million YouTube creators globally is the subject of Australian content regulation, there receive some level of remuneration from their is much for industry, policymakers and regulators uploaded content and it is estimated that, in to get their heads around. mid-2018, the top 5,000 YouTubers had at least First, let’s get more acquainted with this 1 million subscribers; more than 200 had 10 million emerging industry. There is still a remarkable subscribers; and more than 100 had a billion ignorance about its dimensions, both global and lifetime video views. local. In various public utterances by industry Across other platforms, the top 500 Twitch figures, in interviews and at an event in 2017, the streamers have a minimum of 200,000 paying “Australian content conversation”,3 which kicked off subscribers, the top 100 Instagram users have a a review of Australian and children’s content, views minimum of 20 million followers, and the top have been put that: 100 Twitter users have 20 million followers and up. l This sort of material is not viable as a business A report by the Re:Create Coalition found that (they are hobbyists who need to grow up) creators earned $5.9bn across nine digital and social l It’s rubbish anyway and should not be media platforms in 2016 in the US alone.1 mentioned in the same breath as professional In Australia, Google states that there were in 2016 screen content (it’s all about cute moggies doing the more than 400 Australian YouTube channels darndest things). with more than 100,000 subscribers and 85 with Behind these two sit the fear and loathing that all 12 InterMEDIA | December/January 2018/19 Vol 46 Issue 4 www.iicom.org this happens on platforms that are eating our lunch Clockwise from top After all, the mainstream screen business that we as the advertising lifeblood of broadcasting and left: Casey Neistat, all know and love has been around in various forms media moves online. Louna Maroun, Felix for 100 years. Social media entertainment is an Kjellberg (PewDiePie), Wengie, Australian upstart and a young person’s business. While you IT’S NOT VIABLE AS A BUSINESS twins Danny and get the odd octogenarian outlier, the average creator Yes, social media entertainment is definitely part of Michael Philippou is a 20-something, and – while it has proven the gig economy. It is inherently unstable, not least (RackaRacka), impossible for us to establish good data at this stage because the algorithms that drive remuneration on SketchSHE, Tyler – there are no doubt many who have burnt out, Oakley (and his fan the platforms are constantly being tweaked. But number) flamed out or aged out. And there is Mathias Bärtl’s volatility doesn’t stop hotel associations and taxi study on YouTube:4 companies from taking Airbnb and Uber seriously. “It demonstrates stark contrasts between video genres in As we have seen, there has been huge growth, terms of channels, uploads and views, and that a vast but the business models during that time have majority of on average 85% of all views goes to a small undergone fundamental change owing to the need minority of 3% of all channels. The analytical results give for risk management and portfolio diversification evidence that older channels have a significantly higher and in response to platform competition. We’ve probability to garner a large viewership, but also show that seen moves from a single platform (YouTube) and there has always been a small chance for young channels to programmatic advertising, to multiplatform become successful quickly, depending on whether they choose and multiple sources of revenue, including their genre wisely.” merchandising, live appearances, licensing and While this doesn’t sound too different from any crowdfunding, but most centrally, brand other creative industry, what is fundamental is that integration and the rise of the “influencer”. creators of social media entertainment engage in a Of course, it’s too early to tell whether and how model of entrepreneurial practice that pays as this rapidly changing environment featuring much if not more attention to how you build and constantly pivoting platforms will consolidate. maintain a subscriber community that is www.iicom.org December/January 2018/19 Vol 46 Issue 4 | InterMEDIA 13 MEDIA passionate enough to follow you through thick For debates to be subscribers, has flirted with Nazi and thin as to the creation of content. And feedback useful, arguments symbolism and been lauded by is in real time, constant, fulsome and often the Daily Stormer, while Logan confronting. This includes a lot of strong negatives about quality need a Paul has uploaded video of and trolling. much stronger dose Japanese suicides. On the other Every kind of revenue model in this hand, there are social media entrepreneurial practice depends on activated of demand-side entertainment thought leaders community support. Mainstream arts, culture and thinking. Hank and John Green, the screen industries, with all their talk of audience “Vlogbrothers”, who started building, have much to learn from this practice. Nerdfighters and the VidCon It’s an unforgiving business model: upload content show and speak out for small business creators and several times weekly through non-commensurate, communities. Note that there is a lot of disciplining multiplatform gateways, build and maintain of creators by their communities as well as the your community, deal with the vagaries of the inbuilt constraints that commercial interests exert algorithm, risk-manage your authenticity with both on platforms and on creators. demanding brands and even more demanding But a crucial point is that it is not a zero-sum communities. game about what is professional quality and what is As the multitalented, multidisciplinary musician, rank amateurism – it is not only about quality of actor, vlogger and Twitch streamer, Louna Maroun, content but quality and diversity of engagement. said when she spoke to me: For debates to be useful for policymakers, “I work constantly, whether it is filming, editing, emails arguments about quality need a much stronger dose or social media. It is a lot of work and I spend the majority of demand-side thinking. of my time dedicated to it. Sometimes I don’t feel like I’m At the Content Conversation event, Megan actually working when I’m working, and that makes it Brownlow from PwC made significant points about difficult to keep track of how much work I am putting in. the “lost generation” of television viewers; 8-22 year I love it so much that I don’t even have a regular schedule.