YouTube starts paying a few contributors

Cory Bergman May 3rd, 2007

Between 20 and 40 independent video producers on YouTube will begin receiving a slice of revenue associated with display ads that surround their video clips. “This will help erase the the stigma around the user-created content, and, to be honest, these guys are media entities in their own right,” said Jamie Byrne, vice president of marketing at YouTube. The producers include Lonelygirl15, Smosh and LisaNova. YouTube continues to work on a wider-reaching revenue share program.