Brand Deals And Patrons: Alternate Funding Structures In Science Content On Youtube

• In Event: Disrupting, Broadcasting and Commercializing Science

Abstract

Viewers interested in scientific content are increasingly turning to the education and entertainment that may be provided by content creators on YouTube. Amidst the videos produced by external media organizations are channels created by YouTube users who earn all or a significant portion of their income from their YouTube videos. The most popular videos about science are not usually produced by scientists, but by enthusiasts who wish to share both their enthusiasm for and beliefs about science. While traditionally content creators receive income on YouTube based on advertising directly through the platform, increasingly content creators are turning to direct advertising agreements with external corporations and crowdfunding solutions through external websites like Patreon to earn their income. This paper uses a content analysis of high-subscriber count independent science channels on YouTube and critical readings of their advertisements and crowdfunding pitches. By exploring the strategies and dynamics of these two alternate methods of YouTube income, it permits a more complete understanding of the political economy of YouTube and the impacts this economy may have upon the views of science and scientists as expressed by these content creators and communicated to their thousands or millions of viewers.

Author

• Brian Pleasants Harper, Indiana University Bloomington