Why Creators Are Really Quitting Big Automotive YouTube Channels

As always, it’s about greed and money, but not how you might think!

A video caught my eye the other day: “Why Everyone is Quitting BIG Automotive YouTube Channels (Donut, Hoonigan, CarThrottle)” from AutoTea Channel. Turns out that fledgling channel (fast-growing though – with just five videos it already has over a million views and nearly 10k subs), belongs to Tiernan, who himself was part of the team that grew Donut Media, and indeed has now left.

So, what gives? Turns out there are actually more than a handful of videos from creators in the Automotive digital media space, announcing their departure from X, Y or Z well-known Car YouTube Channels. Is there a mass exodus then? 

Let’s go back to the beginning… God created Man… oh, oops, that’s a little too far back. How about this – I started in automotive media 35 years ago, that was back in the late ’80s when print was king. Over the years, I’ve witnessed the shift to digital, then to social media, and now to video platforms like YouTube. Each shift brought its own challenges. Usually, it actually led to better quality content, delivered faster and more democratically.

But the latest revolution could be the most disruptive yet. That of course, is AI, but that’s a subject for a separate write-up. Here we’re looking at what happens when digital media grows and hits a tipping point that takes it from zero-to-hero and back again in 10 seconds or less – I just left that last bit in as a motoring reference! 

But you get the picture? At the precise moment a brand, in this case an automotive YouTube channel, should get the Nos boost it’s been waiting for and rocket to the next level, it seems to get its tyres slashed and crashes unceremoniously into the nearest lamppost. 

Why? 

Do they let Driverless Autonomy systems take over? Again with the AI? Leave it. Told you, that’s a discussion for another day. 

Nah, it’s all about money, fuelled by greed, pumped by capitalism into an uneven mixture that blows the head gasket, turning your sweet ride into a ruinous wreck. 

“Nah, it’s all about money, fuelled by greed, pumped by capitalism into an uneven mixture that blows the head gasket, turning your sweet ride into a ruinous wreck.”

The Corporate BS Ruins Everything

So how does this happen? It’s actually quite simple. Creatives like yours truly, work hard to create exciting new content, usually with a USP, that occasionally strikes gold, draws the views, sends subs soaring, and cuts through the algorithm. 

Hard work, dedication, persistence, a fair dose of wackiness, madcappery and bloody-mindedness, combined with energy drinks and a generous sprinkling of lady luck (though usually without the lady – sad I know) sees the genuine petrolheads and content creators sitting on a brand as valuable as an undiscovered lithium mine. 

Meanwhile Mr Venture Capitalist/Investor/Tycoon/Wealthy Blowhard or KingPin notices. Here’s a brand he/she likes/enjoys/sees the potential in, snaps it up and serves on a platter to the shareholders as the next big thing. 

“It’s gonna make us rich… oh, yes I know we’re already filthy rich… but this will make us even richer… a little bit.”

“Hard work, dedication, persistence, a fair dose of wackiness, madcappery and bloody-mindedness, combined with energy drinks and a generous sprinkling of lady luck (though usually without the lady – sad I know) sees the genuine petrolheads and content creators sitting on a brand as valuable as an undiscovered lithium mine.“

They all log on and wait to see the numbers rocket. You and I are thinking they’re looking for the subscriber count and views to rise. But that’s not quite the barometer they’re judging progress by. Their latest acquisition, which thus far has demonstrated such unnatural growth, should now grow further, faster, fatter – financially. 

Except it doesn’t. Because now Corporate is involved. And Corporate has policies and agendas, and liabilities, and advertising relationships, and political considerations, and compliance regs and a ton more BS besides. And that’s without getting into the egos involved in these things. 

This stifles creativity, dampens enthusiasm, and most destructively of all, curbs creativity. 

Success is a Graph Always Pointing Up

As a small creator myself, I’m still in the building up views and subs phase, one that has lasted too bloody long already, and consumed a dangerously inordinate amount of my blood, sweat and tears, leaving my glands rather shrivelled and dry. Where’s that energy drink?

It’s the aim of every creator to reach a self-sustainable level of enterprise, and that is the final frontier (c’mon what did you expect from a Trekkie?!). Right now though, my channel effectively earns me negative income – in other words, I spend more on it than it makes for me. 

“Corporate has policies and agendas, and liabilities, and advertising relationships, and political considerations, and compliance regs and a ton more BS besides.”

How? Why? What? 

Hey, doing car stuff ain’t cheap you know! Aside from equipment and production costs, reviewing cars can quickly sap the expense account – which is doubly annoying because when you’re self-employed there isn’t one. Even attending and covering events is not without budgetary considerations. 

However, if I was lucky enough with the support of you – my dear, delightful audience, through your generous and considered contributions such as to my YouTube memberships, or Patreon, or Ko-Fi, or even buying my book (The ULEZ Files by B C Guy on Amazon.com) or simply just watching my stuff on YouTube and disabling the ad-blocker (PLEASE!!). Then I could, conceivably – reach a level of financial equilibrium. 

I’d be a content, content creator – see what I did there? 

Listen, just like all dedicated content creators, I should imagine and hope, I too want my channel to be viable enough to justify spending time on, so that I can create relevant, interesting, engaging stuff that I enjoy making, and which I believe you will find useful, interesting and entertaining. 

At that point of universal balance (I mean both the metaphysical balance and bank balance), I wouldn’t be chasing subs and views anymore, I’d be focussing on creativity alone. 

For Corporates, however, the priorities are skewed towards ever-increasing revenue, growing profit margins and making this year’s annual shareholder party even grander, more elaborate and decadent, than last year.

Growth Demand is Not Right-Sizing

A business or entity that holds steady and maintains viability should be good for me the Creator, you the Consumer and, in fact, additionally for sustainability and the environment… Say what? Think about it, you only consume what you need, I only create what you consume, and nothing is wasted, whereas increased growth demands increased consumerism, resulting in increased wasted resources – this applies to all businesses and industries. 

“Top-heavy tumbles and crumbles to dust. The golden brand becomes worthless. A million content creators’ hearts break simultaneously as they see a channel boasting millions of subs instantly abandoned and fall into unsalvageable decline.”

Anyhow, while equilibrium may sit happily with us, the Corporate accountants are up in arms and red-flag the business as ‘no net growth’ (in other words, ticking over just fine, simply isn’t enough). The Board decides action must be taken. 

Strangely they conclude the original creative team are clowns and hire specialist digital and marketing ninja mercenaries to drop-zone in and ‘fix’ the problem. They fail. They send in more elite specialists. They fail too. It’s like the killing fields out there. 

Oh, the executive humanity…!

Meanwhile, the operation becomes top-heavy, and the management staff soak up the salaries, so costs have to be slashed. Budgets are tightened or cut. The original creatives have even less to play with and much less say, instead suddenly finding themselves answering to multiple layers of middle management – none of whom are actually bold enough to be decision-takers – and are more concerned with spreadsheets than with cars or creativity. 

Top-heavy tumbles and crumbles to dust. The golden brand becomes worthless. A million content creators’ hearts break simultaneously as they see a channel boasting millions of subs abandoned and instantly fall into unsalvageable decline. 

The Corporates finally learn a valuable lesson – THE LESSON in fact: that it’s NOT the brand, but it’s the creatives that build it up, that are the real value. 

This lesson is of course promptly forgotten at next morning’s board meeting as losses are written off, redundancies are approved, and they move on to the next big thing they can acquire, plunder and implode. 

The Future of Automotive Media

Don’t tear up, it’s not all bad of course. Hopefully, if the original creatives were astute enough, they would have made a pretty penny or two cashing in on their beloved baby. 

Plus they, and the other rising stars of the original channel, are freed to go and start the whole process again, creating exciting new brands which existing fans can readily flock to. 

They will of course probably make the same mistake again, it’s a vicious circle and the lure of selling to Corporate can be too enticing to resist. But hey, if they get to buy a villa in a balmy province by a clear blue sea, fill it with Ferraris, light up the gram with selfies by the pool and earn thousands an hour for ‘consultancy’ work; then why not?

But here’s the thing, whether it’s Corporate or Post-BS, the content you get at that level is not the raw, exciting and, most importantly of all, AUTHENTIC content that it used to be. 

And that’s the thing, when you’re small, you’re real. I know this to be true. Get too big and success has strings attached; authenticity gets diluted. 

“And that’s the thing, when you’re small, you’re real. I know this to be true. Get too big and success has strings attached; authenticity gets diluted.”

The answer? It’s all down to you. Support your favourite small/medium creators. Make them viable enough to be self-sustaining, but not big enough to be snapped up by investment vultures. In some cases that will never happen anyway, usually when it’s a very personal brand – like BrownCarGuy is to me. 

But if you can support them enough to let them do their thing, you’ll find, on reflection, that’s also your thing. A happy medium for all. But don’t tell the fat cats. 

Oh, and by the way, you’ll find some handy links below – get the PayPal out!

---

Follow all my channels https://linktr.ee/browncarguy

Get my book! https://amzn.eu/d/adFimgB

If you enjoyed this review sponsor my content from as little as £3 at
https://ko-fi.com/browncarguy

Big Thanks to my Supporters!

CraftLab (https://www.CraftLab.my)
Collecting Motors (https://collectingmotors.com)
Design5IT
Tom Conway-Gordon (https://www.instagram.com/anycoloursolongasits_black/)
And others! 🙏🏽☺️