You tube channels

[Tim Kelly]

Why is it that once good interesting you tube channels become crass parodies of themselves after they "make it"? Some of my favourite bass fishing you tube channels have gone from being good genuine guys without agendas to the usual crass back patting, sponsor whoring, wastes of space that many of the TV programs are. These guys now spend time unboxing, meeting up with fellow you tube "stars" and generally losing any credibility they'd accumulated over the years by banging on about this sponsor's product or that sponsor's gear. It's a shame is all. The good interesting content has been replaced by bland nothingness.

[Bluebasser86]

Once they turn into advertisements mixed with a little fishing, I'm out. 

[S. Sass]

Yup many I know that haven't made it to achieving sponsorship, dream of the day they have sponsors. But like you guys have mentioned it is no longer do as you want say what you really feel. Once you accept that sponsor you just sold your soul. You no longer can be honest and sincere. It can be a very rude awakening if you have never been there. 

I had a uncle back in the 80s that had excellent income and he had a car built for racing. It was a Pro Stock car and had a huge amount of $ invested in it on top name and quality parts that my Uncle liked. This car was 100% his $ and his hobby. My uncle always bought his work trucks and family vehicles from the same dealership since he started buying cars. One day the Dealership found out about his car and how competitive it was and so the dealership came to him and wanted to sponsor his car and let my uncle race full time. My uncle turned it down almost before they finished telling him they would pay for everything including his salary. My uncles reasoning was they told him the car would be turned over to a complete crew to have all the parts updated to the best and they would be giving him his schedule. Well the car was the best to him, as he built it the way he wanted it, he had no money issues it was his hobby. And he already had a job and made his own hours when he felt like working he would otherwise he did as he liked.

 My point is many people beg and plead to get sponsors but if you look deep enough its not really all its cracked up to be. Of course every persons situation is different but unless you are serious hard up for the income or are using a sponsor as a stepping stone its just a job. 

[nascar2428]

I've dropped five or six of them so far. I call them the LTB or MTB mafia. Once they start that unboxing stuff, I hit the unsubscribe button.

[bbaaaasssss]

the main reason is these guys are getting paid a very GOOD amount of money from those sponsors.

 

ive met a few guys who have given up their day jobs, and youtube is now their full time job.. one makes more than 6k a week just shooting a fishing video... lol

[Tim Kelly]

4 minutes ago, bassmoore said:

the main reason is these guys are getting paid a very GOOD amount of money from those sponsors.

 

ive met a few guys who have given up their day jobs, and youtube is now their full time job.. one makes more than 6k a week just shooting a fishing video... lol

Seriously? I would think KVD would be interested in that gig!

I can't believe that sponsors sign up for something just to ruin it. The whole point is that they see someone with a following and credibility and want their brand associated with them. If they had any sense they wouldn't ask, or expect anything more than the person to use their product and make an occasional mention of it. Full on Scott Martin style endorsement looks awful and convinces nobody, not to mention repelling people like me.

[bbaaaasssss]

Yeah i have a youtube channel my self, I do mention the kayak shop that im pro staff for, but only for products you can buy there.

Usually ill just wear a shirt or put in a very quick picture clip at the end of their name .

but if its apart of the contract agreement to promote their name, my shop isnt excessive about it, but it has produced a few customer for them

 

but i agree with what your saying and have a very good idea of the few channels your talking about lol.. they went from very informative and fun to watch to... well now u can basically predict whats coming

[Bluebasser86]

14 minutes ago, bassmoore said:

the main reason is these guys are getting paid a very GOOD amount of money from those sponsors.

 

ive met a few guys who have given up their day jobs, and youtube is now their full time job.. one makes more than 6k a week just shooting a fishing video... lol

6K a week?? I need to work on my camera skills... I don't do it to try to get viewers though, it's just fun to go through and watch the recap of my trips and catch some of my dumb moves on camera. 

[Bruce424]

$$$$$$$$$$$.... $$

[Glenn]

I think you're talking about Ed Bassmaster, who has a few million subscribers now.  That number is nearly impossible to achieve in today's competitive Youtube environment.

btw - Ed got his start here on BassResource.com.

[Tim Kelly]

It's not actually, I've never come across his channel. Certainly one of the guilty parties used to post one here though.

[S. Sass]

6K a week? I don't want to ruin the hype that someone may be getting that but that is not what I know some are getting. But they arent doing fishing stuff either. 

[buzzed bait]

i like videos with fishing.....  once they look or sounds anything like an infomercial, i'm done.  i don't subscribe to a lot though, just sit down and start randomly watching...

[Fisher-O-men]

What keeps me from going that direction is my integrity... that and the fact that I don't catch many fish!

[Tim Kelly]

I don't have a problem with people making a living out of fishing and you tube, I have a problem with the total lack of sophistication the sponsors seem to have!

 

Take Gene for example. He used to use those white rods and when explaining what his lesson of the day was and would mention the rod, the reel and retrieve ratio  and the line he was using, just so you'd know what gear he used for the technique. Great and informative. Then he got a boat to use and that's obvious the whole time he's fishing, so he doesn't need to say too much about that. Starting doing videos just about some rods or whatever he's been sent however is dull with a capital D and in my mind reduces his credibility, which is a real shame. A good sponsor would allow the viewers to work out what he was using without the big presentation and if that influences their choice then so be it. Making a you tube channel as crass as all the others by making it all about the sponsors totally wastes the very thing the sponsors were attracted by in the first place and the very reason a person's channel has become popular.

[buzzed bait]

pretty sure they call it "selling out"

basically the demise of so many good things.... music, movies, magazines, etc.

[burrows]

I don't mind the sponsorships nor the advertising, these guys have to make a living.I do mind when it becomes all about the sponsors and there's no more good bass fishing content. I watch videos or shows to see bass fishing, bass catching, tips and techniques mainly bass catching.

[Preytorien]

I'm not nearly good enough or exposed enough to be considered for any kind of fishing sponsorship, but I had a couple chances when I was younger to join sponsored or semi-sponsored cycling teams. It all sounded good, but I decided against it. It meant a lot of travel, required product use, and a team and its management ordering your next steps. I didn't want to take something I loved doing for sport and fun, and make it into something I *had* to do. I feel the same with fishing. I would be afraid that any kind of success would make me too serious about fishing. I don't want my love of outdoors and fishing to be quite that serious.

[Crankinstein]

Believe it or not unboxing things seems to get a lot of views, many of the top youtube earners do nothing but that. I remember seeing one of the top 3 was videos of Disney products being opened and you never even saw a person it was just someones hands opening boxes up. I have my own youtube channel and I try to mix reviews and on the water fishing to about a 50/50 split. I have only two unboxing videos and I will be honest I was amazed at how fast they generated views. I won't be selling out I promise you that but I can't deny the fact that they are effective and if your going to buy a bunch of tackle anyway why not share it with the world once in awhile I mean we do have that bait monkey thread here don't we? People want to know what their peers bought whether its curiosity, competition, or just wanting to see that new secret bait that's coming out. I personally like to think its just part of the fisherman lifestyle and we all buy tons of baits so if your in an online community here at BR or on YT why not include some your new stuff your excited to fish once in a while? The difference to me is when buying what you want changes to showing only a sponsors products. The dialogue changes from "I bought these as an impulse buy because they were cool" to "check out brand X new baits that I show you in every single video now." I like seeing unboxing videos of what normal anglers like myself bought because I can relate and its not an infomercial. That's just my 2 cents anyway and just to add to this I want to say I really enjoy that bait monkey thread in the tackle forum, its addictive to flip through and see what people got and that's exactly what fuels some of these videos and thus my point.

[Tim Kelly]

I must be way too old, I couldn't care less what anyone else has bought and definitely don't want to watch them unpacking it. I appreciate the difference between your own shopping and opening sponsor's product though. The world is a bit mad if people sit at home on their computers watching people unpacking their shopping. I might start a channel with a live fridge cam, so people can watch the traffic in and out of my fridge. Should be a huge hit!

[Crankinstein]

I think you nailed it when you said "the world is a bit mad." In my opinion my best video is one where I catch several big bass cranking a rk crawler 55, the biggest being a 6.5lber. That video was from August and has about 500 views right now yet the black Friday unboxing video I did in November is already past 1000. I just don't get it but the numbers don't lie. I'm going to focus on my fishing videos though and not unboxing because those are the most fun to make and no ones sending me that 6k a week yet.

[Bruce424]

You kno who is good. This dude SKARFishing. Usually fishes to music but has a few informative in depth videos that are very well put together.

[fishwizzard]

It helps to think of youtube as it is now like television was when it first started.  A lot of sponsored shows and very very blatant advertising and product placements.  Right now the advertising industry is going through a huge upheaval and there is a big scramble to "claim turf" online.  Like any bubble it is going to burst and normalize but right now it is pretty nuts.  I work on the very outer fringe of the advertising/marketing industry and the "oh lordy how do we sell to millennials?!?"  money keeps me well stocked in rubber worms. 

That being said, what turns me off the quickest is poor audio and editing.  I used to work for a small production house and I understand the incredible amount of work it takes to cut 3-4 hours of footage into a 15-20min video, but nothing makes me click away faster then a ton of wind noise or dead camera time. 

[reb67]

I wonder if Gene feels if he has sold out.

When I started bass fishing 3 years ago i subscribed to his channel because he was just a guy fishing and seem to really enjoyed share his experience and experiences when comes to bass fishing. He would show you what he was fishing with and why he was fishing with it and made a point to say, no one  was paying me to say that it's just how I feel or what I think.

Now his videos seem to full of product placement and product reviews.

[smr_hga]

If anyone is into inshore saltwater fishing i'd reccomend Zoffinger.