!"#$#%& ()* +,& -"./(012(+1") "- (/(+&#.

/&*1(


!"#$ &'()"**

1o be publlshed ln +,#-"'( ,"./#0 123/#45 3'4-'(#4 #$. 4")#4 6"(*6"3-/7"*, Lds.
uan PunLer, 8amon LobaLo, Megan 8lchardson and !ullan 1homas, London, new
?ork: 8ouLledge, 2012.

lounded ln lebruary 2003 by Lhree former ayal employees, launched publlcly laLer LhaL
year, and acqulred by Coogle ln 2006, ?ou1ube has been around for llLLle more Lhan half a
decade. 1oday lL ls Lhe domlnanL plaLform for onllne vldeo worldwlde,
1
havlng experlenced
rapld growLh ln boLh audlence share and ln Lhe amounL of conLenL uploaded - ln 2011 Lhe
company announced LhaL Lhe slLe en[oyed 3 bllllon vlews per day and 48 hours of vldeo
fooLage uploaded per mlnuLe.
2
Slnce qulLe early on ln Lhe llfe of Lhe plaLform, ?ou1ube has
been a promlnenL locaLlon for Lhe 'copyrlghL wars' - mosL vlslbly ln Lhe bllllon-dollar
lawsulL broughL by vlacom agalnsL Coogle ln 2007, dlscussed ln SLeven PeLcher's chapLer
above,
3
less vlslbly ln Lhe lnLroducLlon of auLomaLed conLenL-maLchlng ofLen resulLlng ln
summary Lakedowns of apparenLly lnfrlnglng vldeos, as well as Lhe locaLlon-based fllLerlng
LhaL resulLs from Lhe unevenness of conLenL llcenslng deals across naLlonal [urlsdlcLlons.
4
AL
Lhe same Llme, ?ou1ube has seen a flurry of experlmenLaLlon wlLh a range of moneLlsaLlon
sLraLegles and buslness models - boLh on Lhe parL of Lhe plaLform lLself and LhaL of Lhe
conLenL creaLors who seek Lo explolL lL.
As !oshua Creen and l have dlscussed elsewhere,
3
aL Lhe beglnnlng ?ou1ube was relaLlvely
'$."(."-"(,/$". as a culLural space. ln 2003 lL was a mlnlmallsL plaLform - llLLle more Lhan
a web-based wldgeL for vldeosharlng - whose purpose had yeL Lo be deflned, asklng Lo be
populaLed wlLh [usL abouL anyLhlng people chose Lo share (wlLh Lhe excepLlon of cerLaln
klnds of sexually expllclL or excesslvely vlolenL maLerlal).
6
As a resulL, lL was close Lo an
unregulaLed free-for-all where cllps of 89" :#,/4; <';, news fooLage and favourlLe muslc
vldeos rlpped from Lelevlslon swlrled around wlLh homemade caL vldeos, fooLage of sLupld
sLunLs and amaLeur bedroom muslcal performances ln a relaLlvely flaL archlLecLure wlLh
llLLle curaLlon or quallLy conLrol. As ?ou1ube scaled up boLh as a plaLform and as a company,
lLs buslness model and Lhe consequences for lLs copyrlghL regulaLlon sLraLegles have co-
evolved, and so Loo Lhe boundarles beLween amaLeur and professlonal medla have shlfLed
and blurred ln parLlcular ways.
7
As ?ou1ube, lnc moves Lo more proflLably arrange and
sLablllse Lhe hlsLorlcally conLenLlous relaLlons among rlghLs-holders, uploaders, adverLlsers
and audlences, some forms of amaLeur vldeo producLlon have become lnsLlLuLlonallsed and
professlonallsed, whlle oLhers have been furLher marglnallsed and drlven underground or Lo
oLher, more forglvlng, plaLforms.
uesplLe lLs ongolng formallsaLlon and leglLlmaLlon as parL of Lhe conLemporary medla
lndusLry (and Lhe recenL dlsappearance of Lhe '8roadcasL ?ourself' slogan from Lhe logo),
Lhe ldea of ?ou1ube as an open plaLform for amaLeur expresslon ls burled deep ln Lhe unA
of Lhe brand. An ofLen-repeaLed orlgln myLh has co-founders Chad Purley and SLeve Chen
comlng up wlLh Lhe ldea for a vldeosharlng webslLe afLer flndlng lL dlfflculL Lo upload and
share Lhelr own dlnner parLy vldeos,
8
and famously, Lhe flrsL vldeo uploaded Lo Lhe slLe was
a very shorL plece enLlLled 'Me aL Lhe Zoo' whlch feaLured Lhe Lhlrd co-founder !awed karlm
sLandlng ln fronL of Lhe elephanLs' enclosure aL Lhe San ulego Zoo and maklng whaL could
be lnLerpreLed as obllque comparlsons beLween Lhe slze of Lhe elephanLs' Lrunks and Lhe
slze of oLher dangllng appendages.
9
More Lhan flve years laLer, ?ou1ube ls sLlll bubbllng
over wlLh mundane home vldeos and oLher amaLeur conLenL, and every now and Lhen one
of Lhese vldeos hlLs Lhe blg Llme as Lhe nexL blg vlral vldeo or Lhe source of yeL anoLher
lnLerneL meme. Cne such home vldeo, 'Charlle 8lL My llnger', whlch capLures a hlghly
amuslng buL oLherwlse unremarkable lnLeracLlon beLween Lwo young broLhers, sLlll slLs
alongslde malnsLream sLars llke Lady Caga and lnLerneL sensaLlons llke !usLln 8leber ln Lhe
mosL vlewed vldeos of all Llme, wlLh close Lo 400 mllllon vlews as aL november 2011.
10

ln hls chapLer ln Lhls volume, SLeven PeLcher polnLs Lo Lhe lnLerdependency of Lhe non-
commerclal (ln many cases, llLerally 'household') sphere of amaLeur conLenL creaLlon wlLh
Lhe commerclallLy of Lhe plaLforms, llke ?ou1ube, upon whlch Lhls conLenL ls hosLed and lLs
audlences are produced. 8uL lL ls noL only Lhe case LhaL commerclal plaLforms llke ?ou1ube
are brlnglng lnLo Lhe sphere of Lhe markeL modes of culLural parLlclpaLlon LhaL mlghL
formerly have been consldered 'non-markeL' (domesLlc, everyday) acLlvlLy. As lL has
maLured as a commerclal plaLform bullL on boLh amaLeur and professlonal conLenL and
supporLed by adverLlslng, ?ou1ube has been Lhe slLe of anoLher developmenL - Lhe
professlonallsaLlon and =2(,#4/*#-/2$ of amaLeur medla producLlon. 1hls shlfL ls occurrlng
Lhrough Lhe lncluslon of 'homegrown' ?ou1ube producers ln Lhe revenue-sharlng arLner
rogram, seelng Lhe rlse of Lhe 'enLrepreneurlal vlogger',
11
as well as Lhe new commerclal
culLural lnLermedlarles LhaL speclallse ln flrsL markeLlslng and Lhen professlonallslng
'amaLeur' ?ou1ube acLlvlLy.
1he ?ou1ube arLner program, whlch shares adverLlslng revenue wlLh conLenL creaLors, was
aL flrsL only accesslble Lo 'blg medla' conLenL provlders, buL soon opened up Lo a small
group of parLlcularly successful ?ou1ubers (mosLly vldeobloggers), and has become more
lncluslve over Llme. lamously, several producers of one-off vlral vldeos (llke Lhe camera-
wleldlng uad behlnd 'Charlle 8lL my llnger') or, more lnLeresLlngly, long-runnlng 'programs'
of conLenL mosLly bullL around Lhe vldeoblog genre (llke AusLrallan comlc vldeoblogger
naLalle 1ran, aka >2,,'$/-;>9#$$"4) have reporLedly achleved slx flgure lncomes from
revenue dlrecLly assoclaLed wlLh Lhe moneLlsaLlon of Lhelr amaLeur conLenL,
12
and ?ou1ube-
Lo-malnsLream crossover celebrlLy !usLln 8leber largely owes hls career Lo Lhe audlences
bullL vla Lhe plaLform, and was reporLedly 'dlscovered' Lhere.
13
lndeed, lL was Lhe amaLeurs
who flrsL made a go of generaLlng loyal audlences from Lhelr conLenL on ?ou1ube -
addresslng and collaboraLlng wlLh fellow ?ou1ube users, respondlng Lo audlence commenLs,
referrlng Lo up-Lo-daLe developmenLs ln popular web culLure by rlfflng off currenL ?ou1ube
memes, and so on.
14
ln facL, [usL as lL was ln 2007, lL ls sLlll Lhe case ln 2011 LhaL Lhe ma[orlLy
of Lhe mosL-subscrlbed ?ou1ube channels are, lf noL purely amaLeur, Lhen aL leasL prlmarlly
vldeoblog-sLyle homegrown ?ou1ube acLs.
13

ln addlLlon Lo pushlng forward lnLo malnsLream dlglLal medla Lhrough premlum Lelevlslon
conLenL, movle renLals and llve-sLreamlng of ma[or sporLlng evenLs, ?ou1ube ls lncreaslngly
promoLlng Lhls klnd of pro-am enLerprlse as a way forward for Lhe plaLform. Such lnlLlaLlves
span Lhe range beLween coordlnaLed parLlclpaLlon and hlgh-end curaLlon (as ln Lhe ?ou1ube
Symphony CrchesLra pro[ecL) Lhrough Lo professlonallsaLlon of amaLeur vldeo producLlon.
ln early 2011 ?ou1ube announced Lhe acqulslLlon of nexL new neLworks, Lhe small
producLlon company behlnd Lhe 'AuLoLune Lhe news' program and lLs splnoffs, and now
speclallslng ln Lurnlng oLher amaLeur ?ou1ube LalenL lnLo professlonal acLs, ln effecL
operaLlng slmllarly Lo lndependenL record labels ln Lhe muslc lndusLry.
16
ln an analysls of
?ou1ube vldeos dlscusslng Lhe arLner rogram, eLer !akobsson has argued LhaL Lhe
arLner rogram ln lLself as well as lnlLlaLlves llke Lhls has led Lo Lhe encouragemenL of a
compeLlLlve 'enLrepreneurlal deslre' among Lhe amaLeur ?ou1ubers,
17
a dynamlc LhaL has
been conLroverslal ln Lhe wlder ?ou1ube communlLy buL LhaL was already evldenL among
Lhose vldeobloggers who en[oyed early success on Lhe plaLform,
18
and an example of Lhe
'slLuaLed creaLlvlLy'
19
LhaL ls necessary for Lhe esLabllshmenL of loyal subscrlbers and sLable
audlences ln whaL ls an exLremely volaLlle medla envlronmenL.
Cne parLlcularly hlgh-proflle recenL lnlLlaLlve ls Lhe ?ou1ube CreaLors hub,
20
a dedlcaLed
area of Lhe ?ou1ube webslLe whlch feaLures vldeo LuLorlals, deLalled pollcy lnformaLlon and
an exLenslve gulde for creaLors called Lhe ?ou1ube laybook. Crganlsed around Lhe
LradlLlonal sLeps ln Lhe medla value chaln (producLlon, publlcaLlon, and markeLlng), Lhe
gulde deLalls Lhe aesLheLlc and formal quallLles of successful ?ou1ube vldeos, provldes Llps
on meLadaLa and search opLlmlsaLlon, and - cruclally - dlscusses Lhe hlghly speclflc
sLraLegles LhaL are necessary Lo bulld loyal audlences on ?ou1ube. 1hls lnlLlaLlve can be seen
as an aLLempL on behalf of ?ou1ube Lo reduce Lhe raLlo of non-moneLlsable Lo moneLlsable
amaLeur conLenL, glven Lhe relucLance of adverLlsers Lo place a spoL alongslde poor quallLy
conLenL and Lhe masslve amounL of fooLage uploaded Lo Lhe server LhaL recelves very few
vlews
21
- hence Lhe lnvocaLlons Lo publlsh aL regular frequenL lnLervals, Lo malnLaln a
conslsLenL formaL and brand, and so on. 8uL aL Lhe same Llme, many lf noL mosL of Lhe
examples of successful ?ou1ube channels dlscussed ln Lhe gulde are noL recognlsable medla
brands, buL home-grown ?ou1ube channels - wheLher or noL Lhey are now or ever were
'really' amaLeurs. 1he hllllp uelranco Show, MysLery CulLar Man, lreddle W, and oLher
?ou1ube channels are all used as examples of ?ou1ube-savvy programmlng, collaboraLlon,
and audlence engagemenL, hlghllghLlng Lhelr demonsLraLed undersLandlng of ?ou1ube as a
soclal neLwork and a communlLy of fellow producers, raLher Lhan as an lnerL publlshlng
plaLform. Cf course, Lhe cholce Lo focus on examples llke Lhese also helps Lo malnLaln an
address Lo 'ordlnary' amaLeur parLlclpanLs, lnvlLlng us Lo see ourselves as poLenLlal bona
flde medla producers or even celebrlLles-ln-walLlng.
Powever, lnlLlaLlves llke Lhls, especlally ln comblnaLlon wlLh Lhe machlne-enforced copyrlghL
pollcles of Lhe slLe, also Lend Lo shape Lhe acLlvlLles of asplrlng ?ou1ube sLars Loward non-
lnfrlnglng uses of copyrlghL - wheLher Lhrough one-off vlral vldeos llke 'Charlle 8lL My
llnger' or susLalned programmlng, llke LhaL of Lhe enLrepreneurlal vloggers. Larller phases
of ?ou1ube saw Lhe rlse and fall of a serles of hugely popular uCC genres and fads LhaL were
rlfe wlLh Lhe reuse of professlonal medla conLenL - lncludlng home-made muslc vldeos and
rapldly mashed up or wlLLlly quoLed cllps from popular Lelevlslon shows. 1he lnnocenL days
where Lween fans of Leen ldols could cuL a rlp of Lhelr favourlLe Lrack Lo Lhelr favourlLe
rlpped lmages of Lhe slnger are, Lhanks Lo ?ou1ube's copyrlghL proLecLlon Lechnologles and
auLomaLed Lakedowns, fadlng fasL. Llkewlse, Lhe hlghly generaLlve culLural dynamlcs of
lmlLaLlon, parody and spooflng LhaL have glven rlse Lo popular ?ou1ube memes llke Lhe
endless lLeraLlons on a parLlcularly dramaLlc scene from Lhe movle ?/-4"(@* A2B$=#44 are
lncreaslngly under LhreaL - falllng foul of copyrlghL vlolaLlons, geofllLerlng, or boLh. lor
example, Lhe llLeral vldeo verslon of Lhe specLacularly baroque 1980s muslc vldeo for 8onnle
1yler's '1oLal Lcllpse of Lhe PearL', whlch subsLlLuLes a new vocal Lrack wlLh lyrlcs LhaL
llLerally descrlbe Lhe acLlon on screen, recelved mllllons of vlews worldwlde before an
unknown change ln llcenslng resulLed ln audlences ouLslde Lhe u.S. belng confronLed wlLh
Lhe dreaded 'Lhls vldeo ls noL avallable ln your counLry' message when Lrylng Lo vlew Lhe
vldeo. Whlle parLlcularly Lech-savvy users conLlnue Lo flnd workarounds for auLomaLed
copyrlghL vlolaLlon deLecLlon
22
and lL ls Lechnlcally posslble for users Lo mounL a falr use
argumenL afLer Lhe facL and have Lhelr vldeos relnsLaLed, Lhe auLomaLed Lakedown reglme
ls llkely Lo have a demorallslng effecL on uploaders and a chllllng effecL on conLenL reuse as
a core dynamlc of amaLeur creaLlvlLy.
So as well as promoLlng 'home-grown' ?ou1ube conLenL, Lhese varlous lnlLlaLlves LhaL alm Lo
encourage amaLeur parLlclpaLlon and professlonallse amaLeur producers also work
alongslde Lhe plaLform's copyrlghL proLecLlon pollcles Lo ./*32'(#)" creaLlve re-uses of
exlsLlng medla conLenL by amaLeurs, who noL only have lnsufflclenL legal and flnanclal
resources Lo negoLlaLe conLenL rlghLs Lhemselves ahead of Llme, buL also ofLen have an
lncompleLe undersLandlng of Lhelr own rlghLs (llke falr use or falr deallng provlslons) as well.
1he promlse of ?ou1ube as a plaLform for genulnely new modes of culLural parLlclpaLlon,
lnvolvlng noL only sLralghLforward self-expresslon buL also Lhe repurposlng of pre-exlsLlng
popular culLure and medla conLenL, are less Lhan llkely Lo flourlsh as ?ou1ube conLlnues Lo
maLure as a commerclal plaLform. 8uL lL ls preclsely Lhese ongolng Lenslons beLween Lhe
amaLeur and professlonal, non-commerclal and commerclal modes of culLural producLlon,
as well as creaLlve albelL unauLhorlsed reuses of exlsLlng conLenL assoclaLed wlLh ?ou1ube's
ongolng 'underdeLermlnaLlon' as a plaLform LhaL have glven rlse Lo new modes of culLural
producLlon and new forms of enLerprlse, many of whlch orlglnaLed wlLh amaLeur uses of Lhe
plaLform. lL remalns Lo be seen wheLher Lhese generaLlve Lenslons wlll remaln ln play as
?ou1ube conLlnues lLs march Lowards global domlnance over onllne vldeo.


1
lor Lhe pasL several years ?ou1ube has conslsLenLly been very close Lo Lhe Lop of varlous llsLs of Lhe mosL-
vlslLed webslLes worldwlde. Accordlng Lo Alexa.com, as of november 2011 lL ls ln Lhlrd spoL behlnd Coogle
and lacebook. See <hLLp://www.alexa.com/LopslLes>.
2
lor currenL company-produced sLaLlsLlcs see <hLLp://www.youLube.com/L/press_sLaLlsLlcs>.
3
!"#$%& ()*+,)#*"%)#- ()$ . /%0102+ ()$3 718 l Supp 2d 314 (Su n?, 2010). 1he LexL of Lhe complalnL ls
avallable aL <hLLp://onllne.ws[.com/publlc/resources/documenLs/vlacom?ou1ubeComplalnL3-12-07.pdf>.
4
?ou1ube's ConLenL lu sysLem ls descrlbed aL <hLLp://www.youLube.com/L/conLenLld>.
3
!ean 8urgess and !oshua Creen, C2'8'D"0 E$4/$" F/."2 #$. G#(-/3/6#-2(; >'4-'(", Cambrldge: ollLy ress,
2009, pp. 3-3.
6
ln facL Lhere was reporLedly some Lalk among Lhe Leam aL Lhe beglnnlng abouL Lhe ldea of ?ou1ube belng
elLher Lhe 'lllckr of vldeo' or a klnd of vldeo daLlng servlce - somewhaL akln Lo Lhe daLlng slLe
PoLornoL.com. See for example: uavld Lldsky, 89" &(/"= D'- H,6#3-='4 ?/*-2(; 2= C2'8'De (1 lebraury
2010) lasL Company <hLLp://www.fasLcompany.com/magazlne/142/lL-had-Lo-be-you.hLml>.
7
lor furLher dlscusslon of Lhls process of co-evoluLlon see SLuarL Cunnlngham, 'LmergenL lnnovaLlon
1hrough Lhe Co-evoluLlon of lnformal and lormal Medla Lconomles' (2012) 8"4"7/*/2$ #$. I"B J"./#,
(forLhcomlng).
8
!ohn Cloud, '1he Curus of ?ou1ube', 8/," J#)#K/$" (onllne), 16 uecember 2006
<hLLp://www.Llme.com/Llme/prlnLouL/0,8816,1370721,00.hLml>.
9
1he 'Me aL Lhe Zoo' vldeo (wlLh a mere 6 mllllon vlews as aL november 2011) ls sLlll avallable aL
<hLLp://www.youLube.com/waLch?v=[nCxAC9lv8w>.
10
lor currenL sLaLlsLlcs on Lhe mosL popular vldeos on Lhe servlce, see <hLLp://youLube.com/charLs>.
11
!ean 8urgess and !oshua Creen, '1he LnLrepreneurlal vlogger: arLlclpaLory CulLure 8eyond Lhe
rofesslonal/AmaLeur ulvlde', ln elle Snlckar and aLrlck vonderau (eds) 89" C2'8'D" L"#."(, SLockholm:
naLlonal Llbrary of Sweden, 2009, p 89.
12
See vanessa Allen, '1he AmaLeur ?ou1ube SLarLs Maklng lamllles 100,000 lrom 1helr Pllarlous Pome
vldeos', J#/4 E$4/$", 14 november 2011 <hLLp://www.dallymall.co.uk/news/arLlcle-2060939/?ou1ube-

sLars-maklng-famllles-100-000-hllarlous-home-vldeos.hLml>, Asher Moses, 'Cur naLalle 8aklng ln
$100,000 from ?ou1ube', 89" 1;.$"; J2($/$) ?"(#4. (onllne) 20 AugusL 2010
<hLLp://www.smh.com.au/dlglLal-llfe/dlglLal-llfe-news/our-naLalle-raklng-ln-100000-a-year-from-youLube-
20100820-133be.hLml>.
13
!an Poffman, '!usLln 8leber ls Llvlng Lhe 1ween ldol uream', 89" I"B C2(M 8/,"* (onllne) 3 uecember
2009 <hLLp://www.nyLlmes.com/2010/01/03/fashlon/03bleber.hLml?pagewanLed=all>.
14
ln our 2007-2008 sLudy, !oshua Creen and l used Lhe 'mosL subscrlbed channels' meLrlc as a measure of
ongolng audlence engagemenL, raLher Lhan 'vlral' popularlLy. See !ean 8urgess and !oshua Creen,
C2'8'D"0 E$4/$" F/."2 #$. G#(-/3/6#-2(; >'4-'(", pp. 39-60.
13
lor currenL sLaLlsLlcs on Lhe mosL-subscrlbed channels of all Llme see <hLLp://youLube.com/charLs>.
16
!ason klncald, '?ou1ube Acqulres nexL new neLworks, lnLroduces ?ou1ube nexL 1ralnlng Squad',
8"393('$39, 7 March 2011 <hLLp://Lechcrunch.com/2011/03/07/youLube-acqulres-nexL-new-neLworks-
lnLroduces-youLube-nexL-Lralnlng-squad/>.
17
eLer !akobsson, 'CooperaLlon and CompeLlLlon ln Cpen roducLlon' (2010) (CreaLlve Commons speclal
lssue, uecember) GN+8:ELJ0 !2'($#4 2= J"./# #$. >2,,'$/3#-/2, 106.
18
!ean 8urgess and !oshua Creen, '1he LnLrepreneurlal vlogger'.
19
!ason oLLs eL al, 'Consumer Co-CreaLlon and SlLuaLed CreaLlvlLy' (2009) 13(3) H$.'*-(; #$. H$$27#-/2$
439.
20
See <hLLp://www.youLube.com/creaLors/lndex.hLml>.
21
lL has been revealed ln a blog posL by ?ou1ube sofLware englneer LhaL, ln an unremarkable 'long Lall'
dlsLrlbuLlon, 30 of ?ou1ube conLenL recelves 99 of Lhe LoLal vlews on Lhe slLe. See 8en WhlLelaw,
'AlmosL all ?ou1ube vlews Come lrom !usL 30 of vlews', 89" 8"4")(#69 (onllne) 20 Aprll 2011
<hLLp://www.Lelegraph.co.uk/Lechnology/news/8464418/AlmosL-all-?ou1ube-vlews-come-from-[usL-30-
of-fllms.hLml>.
22
user dascoLL[r capLured fooLage of Lhe llLeral vldeo verslon of '1oLal Lcllpse of Lhe PearL' wlLh a vldeo
camera and framed lL wlLhln a phoLographlc border feaLurlng a caL LhaL ls apparenLly waLchlng Lhe vldeo,
albelL wlLh a somewhaL bemused expresslon. 1he accompanylng LexL says: '1he caL border" on Lhls vldeo
ls Lo avold auLomaLlc deLecLlon by ?ou1ube. Sony has blocked my non-caL" verslon ln mosL non-uS
counLrles, so l'm posLlng Lhls by requesL. uS vlewers can cllck here Lo waLch lL caL-less'. 1hls vldeo can be
vlewed aL <hLLp://www.youLube.com/waLch?v=ovLuhlfgdCo>.