[Havoc]

It is the classic & interesting question, but from watching other creators it seems to miss a key variable: Reliability of monetization.

Someone may love making videos, has a reliable core audience and good views from western audience (and thus high pay rate). However if it costs them 1k to make a vid and the algo is hit/miss as to whether it gets demonetized or not then that becomes a show stopper issue. If you make 3 vids a month and are unlucky then you've got a -3k cashflow...so you're not eating that month.

I've seen some move to Twitch as a result since core audience will follow and subs are a bit more predictable (or rather not as all or nothing)

[tester457]

I've seen twitch let's players say they wish they prioritized youtube first because they claimed youtube revenue is larger and more reliable than twitch subs.

But gamers are able to publish a video nearly, a contrast from the kind of youtuber that spends 1k on a video like you mentioned.

[Havoc]

I guess youtube has the advantage of potential recurring revenue from back catalog so I can see that creating a reliable stream effect. Depends on type of content I think - some types have very spiky first 48 hours. So either you're monetized there or it's a dud video.