Creators finally know how much money YouTube makes, and they want more of it

More than a decade after acquiring YouTube, Google is finally giving investors some information on how much revenue the video platform makes: a whopping $15 billion in advertising alone.

Except, it’s not actually $15 billion. Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat told investors during an earnings call on Monday afternoon that YouTube pays out a majority of that advertising revenue to its creators. Although Porat wouldn’t say how much of the $15 billion goes to its content makers, she did specify those payouts belong to YouTube’s “content acquisition” costs, which run around $8.5 billion.

For people trying to make their living on YouTube, many feel like they don’t see nearly enough of that $8.5 billion. Top creators tend to earn the most ad revenue...

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