Let's catch you up on some of the insider stuff going on here at The Rubin Report headquarters.
First, I should say how pleased we are not just with the growth of the show in terms
of numbers, but also in terms of content.
We're on track to crack 500,000 subscribers in a few weeks and our watch time is about
15 minutes per video, which is almost unheard of on YouTube.
Our audience engagement is great, and even the comment section hasn't *TOTALLY* devolved
into the abyss of hate like so many other channels have.
More importantly, I'm incredibly proud of the conversations we're continuing to foster
around here.
From last week's interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, to the week before with Jordan Petersen,
and before that with Yasmine Mohammed and Brandon Turner, I think we've managed to have
wide ranging, important conversations which leave you with something to think about, instead
of feeling empty and enraged, like much of the content out there is designed to make
you feel.
Many of you have asked me about the YouTube demonetization issue, which I've addressed
on Twitter and Facebook, but wanted to discuss here as well.
For those of you just catching up, about 6 weeks ago YouTube lost about 750 million dollars
in ad sales after a bunch of stories ran across mainstream media, about how ads were being
played on offensive content on the Youtube Platform.
Putting aside what is actually offensive, or that you rarely associate the ad playing
before the video with the content itself, YouTube found itself in a tough position.
750 million isn't chump change, even to a company like Google, and suddenly there were
less ads to go around the entire platform.
I should pause here and say that as a private company, YouTube absolutely has the right
to do whatever they want with their business, and in this case, if there aren't ads to go
around on all the content... well, nobody is forcing me or anyone else to create videos
here.
At the same time this demonetization was happening, there was also another problem unfolding for
channels such as this one.
Some of our videos, which deal with "certain controversial" topics, aren't getting served
ads at all.
So for example, videos we've done with people from Lauren Southern to Bishop Barron to Yasmine
Mohammed...and there's some real diversity in that group...aren't being served ads at
all due to the nature of their content.
Again, that is YouTube's right to do, and it isn't censorship because they aren't stopping
us from putting up those interviews, but eventually every creator has to make a dime.
Creators will eventually self censor if they know certain topics won't make them any money.
Since I try to be as transparent as possible with you, I want to tell a little more about
our economics around here.
Our interview with Ayaan, which was done on location in another city due to security issues,
cost us over $5,000 between studio rental, flying my crew to another city, hotel rooms
and other ancillary costs.
The four videos we put up with Ayaan have made us less than $1,000 back on YouTube.
I'm no economist, but even I know that's not a sustainable business model.
In this case, not doing the interview with Ayaan would've been the prudent business decision,
but of course I'm thrilled that Ayaan took the time, and in my view it was worth the
financial hit we took to make it happen.
The truth that Ayaan speaks about female genital mutilation, the Left's alliance with Islam,
and the power of the individual as a lynch pin in a free western society are all messages
that must be heard and amplified.
I'll continue to have these important conversations regardless of the financial implications as
long as we can do so.
I mention all this insider stuff to you not for your pity or your money, but just to give
you a little insight into how complex content creation is these days and how there are often
behind the scenes issues that have little to do with the content but a lot to do with
how we are able to make it.
So I'll end this with a thank you to all of you who continue to support us via monthly
pledges on Patreon or through one time pledges on PayPal.
You are the ones who make it possible to do this show and allow us to make decisions based
on the conversations we want to have, without solely looking at the bottom line.
We're going to continue to find new partners to work with and other out of the box ways
to monetize our content, but without you we simply couldn't do what we do around here.
OK, enough business, let's get back to the conversation.
Joining me today is Brigette Gabriel.
Brigette is the founder of Act for America, the countries largest grassroots national
security organization.
She has a fascinating personal story of growing up as a Christian in Lebanon during the civil
war and now is a strident defender of women, minorities and western values.
Will our videos be monetized on YouTube?
There's only one way to find out...