You know, I've always wondered that question as well: what happens to people when the youtube well runs dry? Even if I somehow manage to get to a point where Youtube can pay my bills, I don't think I'd ever stop working a "real" job. However, I work in a field that is just as volatile as Youtube: television. I have the ability to hop from job to job as I please. The skills I have now (assistant editing on AVID) don't really deteriorate, so I can just take a long break and then go back to work whenever I want. Others don't have that luxury and trust me when I say that THAT "luxury" is one of the only things that's nice about working in television. I have to devote at least 11 hours to work (driving there, working, driving home and that's if I'm not on set). Then I come home, read up on news, make a video if I have to, sleep, repeat. That's why I tend to stay more fact based and keep my videos short, I just don't have the time. I'm actually glad Destiny got pushed back, gives me more time to get my life together before I have to go into hardcore video mode. I'm a lesser known content producer for Destiny, so I can't say I'm really impacted by these changes that much (let's just say I make enough money to buy some packs of cards in Hearthstone and pay off some overdue library books for a small group of people). Even if this did affect me, I still have another source of income, so I'd be making content regardless because I'm really excited for this game. For others, this IS their income and it's akin to being fired from your job, but I'd say it's more along the lines of working for free. However, I'm in the party that thinks this will be resolved soon, especially with the support that many companies (including Bungie) have been giving to the youtube community. The reason all these changes are coming is because Youtube/Google don't want to be sued. They've been taking all the responsibility from all these copyright issues, so they're passing on some of the responsibility to MCNs, which is fine. What's not fine is that the content flagging system is flawed. Anyone can flag almost anything and there are zero repercussions for bad claims. Shoot first, ask questions later is the game. The fact that this system is handled completely automatically is another issue. There's no one for anyone to talk to about this, it's just "well, let me dispute and see what happens." THAT'S the biggest issue. However, another issue is the fact that even something that's 10 seconds long can completely disable a video of any duration, which is insanity. If I have 10 seconds of a copyrighted song in a 30 minute video of mine and it's flagged, the owners of the song get 100% of the revenue from my video (for reference, 10 seconds of 30 minutes is .0055% of the duration). But I think the thing that people are most angry about is YouTube's lack of any human response to anyone. It's essentially run by robots, there's no interaction, there's no one for people to talk to. People can mention alternative websites all they want, but unless there's some serious investment put down, it's probably not going to happen. Dailymotion doesn't have a great search function and Vimeo is even more restrictive than YT. Blip.tv might be solid, but I'm not sure. What happens to youtubers who can't support themselves anymore via Youtube income? They stop making content or significantly lower the amount they do or the quality of it because they need to work another job to put food on the table. That's really it. I think people really underestimate how labor intensive Youtube can be. To make a video, I: review the material, write a script, prepare any visual media, record and edit my audio, edit my video, export, create thumbnail and upload. Even for something that's 5 minutes long, that can take a few hours. The most I can do at work is review the material and write a script and that's only because I'm working a lower level position. If I was in a higher up position, I wouldn't be able to do any of that. And this goes for the Youtubers you've actually heard of as well: Destiny Updates and MoreConsole. We all put a lot of time into producing content. Not to say that non-youtubers don't put in the time, but they aren't dealing with these copyright issues right now. Starting up a channel to the point where one can even make ANY money is a very difficult endeavor. Hell, the only reason some people have even heard of me is because I was at E3 and got some pictures of guns that weren't seen anywhere else and DU/MC both very politely asked me if they could use the material. It's a lot of time invested, especially at the start because most people have jobs and then quit them to pursue Youtube more. I feel bad for people trying to start something like a Call of Duty or Minecraft channel because those markets are so oversaturated already. I think I'm getting offtopic, so I'll shut up now. All of these edits are spelling errors or clarification.

Vimeo is the future

Bungie (DeeJ) has already commented on the issue. Apparently they are on it: http://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/1sjgrq/copyright_claims_against_destiny_youtube_videos/ [quote]DeeJ: Sorry for the hassle, man. We decided that we'd had quite enough of you! Kidding of course. This is not us at all, but we are looking into what we can do for you.[/quote] He continues... [quote]DeeJ: Seriously, though. A conversation about this is happening right now. We love community-driven content, so we'll get to the bottom of this soon.[/quote]

Google is doing something incredibly stupid and unnecessary to Youtube? I am SHOCKED!