[anoncow]

Do we need YouTube if we can host media (in this case MP3 and animations) ourselves (and through CDNs)?

[7steps2much]

No, you don't need YouTube. In fact, you almost never need YouTube.

If you just want to host some files (like mp3s and animations) you can toss them on a CDN.

If you need a bit more advanced features, like easy embedding, a premade player, etc. you might wanna use Vimeo.

*HOWEVER* YouTube is fast, easy and takes care of pretty much everything for you. This is not to be underestimated.