@@LimitedTimeRoman I hope you guys can find a way to sustain your project management, and not get too big that it takes too much to handle (like so many of these other channels. Live below your means, and bring out content at a reasonable pace. We are ok with waiting, and want you and your team to be proud of each project you create! Your fans are dedicated, and we know how important the bell icon is to watch your video as soon as it hits youtube. It's the least we can all do to support this channel that has brought such great content for so many years!
I spent 15 years in newspaper journalism and was there as hedge funds bought up old media. It was a disaster on the ground. Fewer journalists thanks to layoffs every quarter and the few staffing additions made were usually reserved for "social media editor" or some other gig that was more marketing than reporting. Increasing pressure on the news-side from the ad side -- a violation of basic ethical standards -- was a constant issue. I watched Pulitzer Prize winning newsrooms get hollowed out in a few short years. It was toxic, sad and depressing. I got out.
I salute every independent creator on this platform, no matter how many deals they have to turn away to ensure that what they make is their decision to make, that their art is *their* art.
When a creative field goes corporate the creativity is immediately taken out of the picture and only profits are chased by people without any sort of imagination
Someone needs to write a book for private equity firms that want to invest in creative ventures. The biggest points being that it’s about long-term profits, not quarterly growth. The talent is the draw. And if your audience plateaus for a while, you’re winning. Too many business people in general chase profits and growth too aggressively and it always comes at the expense of quality, the consumer, and the long-term health of the venture.
Machinama would be a good starting place. It was run and owned by suits that had no idea what made RUclips popular. Creators asking for permission to do something only to be denied because the suits didn’t get it. Then later the creatives sneak it in and it’s a smash hit so suddenly the suits see the light.
Maybe the entire point is just to drain a business, squeeze immediate profits, discard and move on? Sometimes it's financially beneficial. At the end of the day, for the viewers it's passion, but if it's an investment, it's only there to make money. This is why startups are super careful about choosing the right investor.
I think the issue is private equity firms add another tier of overhead that automotive RUclips can't sustain. Equity firms are basically owners that contribute nothing but take a massive cut if the money because there's only so much meat on the bone to go around. When the profits are kept in a smaller operation, they aren't squandered as easily and can choose what they want to spend it on.
If anything, it needs to be pointed out that creative endeavors aren't great investment vehicles. Invest in RUclips, not creators. Invest in recording studios, not creators. Invest in printing presses, not creators. Investors think they can get a slice of someone else's success and turn that into long term gains. It doesn't work that way. Market demands change and there will always be something new to draw the attention of the audience. Too many people focus on the supply side of the capitalism equation and ignore the demand side, venture capitalists included. If they see RUclips content as a gold rush, sell the shovels.
The entire system needs to shift to rewarding companies for long term stability and the amount of money they’re paying into their local economies (how well they take care of their workers). When the incentive is to take away from the workers and water down the product in order to pay the stockholders more, this is the result.
@@LimitedTimeRomanif it makes you feel better, I, for one, match it to the instrumental in my head with all the drum machine and synths juuuust different enough to be "legally distinct".
My absolute favourite recent discovery has been Garbage Time, and I think the key to it's success is that the creator, DankPods (a tech channel) already presumably had an audience with a niche interest. Garbage Time is just good clean fun, and with the capital to just throw money at s***box cars to make them go faster, it makes sense that the channel would do well
The Hoonigan one really hits. That tweet. "Stuffy Corporate SQUARE takes over Radical Lifestyle STREET Brand". It looks so cynical, so boring, so "we're just walmart automotive now?"
TBF, the owner/founder is a major retail brand owner, like one of the largest in his industry. The entire company was corporate from the start. It was just, "redbull corporate". Which is impossible to sustain unless you have just gobs of money. I think a lot of the people that join those sorts of companies are not very smart about the bigger picture of running a business that size. A lot of them are man-children that make too many mistakes and can't handle tons of responsibility (such as everyone at hoonigan). Which is why Hoonigan and DC have almost completely caved once Ken died. He was the one adult holding it all up for everyone, creating a fun space for creativity and enjoyment. There just wasn't a way to bring in serious people without intoxicating the company with capitalistic scumbaggery, and no one under Ken that can handle the responsibility of running the company.
Yeah, like the other guy said, Hoonigan was corporate from the start. A channel being a corporation or not doesn't dictate the quality of its content. For example: Red Bull.
Not sure he qualifies as a "small" automotive YT channel, but Garbage Time (Wade aka Dankpods' car channel) is worth a watch. If you want to see an Australian torturing his nuggets and occasionally walking around scrapyards.
Most car channels don’t even have anything interesting to say about the car. Dudes like Doug Demuro have a Ferrari to review and don’t even have anything more to talk about than the glove compartment. Long form car content with real research behind it is uncommon.
Definitely my favorite flavor of Roman content, a nice long dive into some niche topic related to cars. You've always got an audience in me for this kind of stuff.
coldwarmotors and idriveaclassic both have roughly 60-65 thousand subscribers but deserve many more. idriveaclassic is one of the very rare YT automobile channels owned and run by a woman. Steph does a fantastic job.
Respect to you and Mr. R for valuing the creativity of your own work enough to deny a buyout attempt. It’s cynical, but I feel like as soon as a channel gets bought out by corporate overlords you can tell immediately. It always feels artificial and streamlined, as if all the genuine soul was polished out to present the most agreeable product possible.
Same. Also his channel is the only one I've seen gain prominence from my home state of Maryland. Hell, I've been on many of the roads he shows in his videos.
Personal favorite small creator: Intergalactic Binman is a great car channel focused on the history of the British automotive industry. Highly recommend!
This is why i want some of my favorite channels to NOT grow too big. Because ive seen this situation happen SO MANY TIMES It's like content creators don't realise that if someone wants to buy you out, it's always to cut you out and get your money that you worked hard to get.
Fault of youtube/google that pressures these content creators to make high quality content quickly, or they will not appear at the top of searches and front pages. Bit of a fault on creators that are trying to use this platform as their career when it was never meant for sustaining income. People lost their minds when they found out how much money the pewdiepie's and mr.beast's of this platform were making in the multi-millions.
Watching you guys as a kid have made being an automotive RUclipsr an ultimate dream for me! As soon as I got my first car I started filming. Gave up on that channel and started this one and it’s looking like it’s finally starting to gain some traction! Thank you two for making my high school years more bearable.
You're level of insight initially was something i was lukewarm about, but honestly the way you express your mind in a very constructed form, has been lately the reason why I not only devour Brian's reviews but also get really glad to see your content and immediatelly click on it. Congrats!!
RCR, Junkyard Digs, Pole Barn Garage, Sara n Tuned, Bad Obsession Motorsports are all awesome independent channels. The first time I saw a sell out was the magical days of Motortrend's Road Kill. My friends and I loved it so much we were inspired to do a Road Kill adventure by flying to Los Angeles, buying cars on Craigslist and then drive them home to Pennsylvania. Now I don't even click on new Motortrend videos. On of the few great corporate channels is Jason Camisa with revelations. But that is because he has been given the opportunity to be the great presenter he is in his own style.
Ah yes I miss the old days of Motor Trend's youtube channel. Know RoadKill and Motor Trend as a whole are just as boring as any old shit you would watch on Discovery or History Channel like Gas Monkey Garage.
The old Roadkill had a certain charm to it like watching the cheap car challenges on Top Gear. It also helped that just like Jeremy, Richard, and James, David and Mike were very good hosts who knew how to have fun and have that fun show in the final product
As someone who always wanted to do automotive content but always felt like I had to have gear and an exciting a car to build, this is the push I needed. Especially coming from one of the first automotive channels I followed that wasn’t a magazine based page. This touched my heart Roman, sincerely the best. Been a fan since the Dodge Nitro review.
I think there was a little more to it than them simply taking a check (it sounds as though it blew up faster than they even knew what to do with it, which is classic hollywood/rock n roll struggle, the suits get to you before you even know which way you're facing). That said, I'm with you in a sense of... taking private equity is entrusting a team of cutthroat business and legal eggheads to run whatever venture you have to make money with. Momentum isn't infinite; it runs out sooner or later and the equity firms swoop in fast.
The story of Zero Punctuation getting bought out and eventually (and suddenly) imploding as the core talent ran off to become Second Wind has many parallels to the automotive space. Corporate incentive structures will inevitably come to blows with the content creation process (or any other production process for that matter), regardless of the near-term benefits brought by the sudden influx of corporate cash.
Please don't stop the RCR Stories. I'm finding I'm watching them and the Roman Report more than the regular car reviews. The stories and reports are both soothing to listen to and very informative and interesting.
This is why I'm really glad that Linus Media Group didn't sell out to their buyer. They were offered I think it was 100 million dollars, and Linus turned it down.
Especially if that buyer was also trying to buy Floatplane. The only platform to my knowledge that's 100% creator owned. I actually think Floatplane might be a good direction for more creators like RCR to look into.
We LOVE your long content Roman! The RCR Stories are so fun and I just wish you had the time to finish the one you’re working on, and the insane amount of research you have to do doesn’t go unnoticed!!
Agreed, his long form deep dives are essential viewing. Among the highest quality content on RUclips. I'm sure the effort/reward ratio is not there vs short form content but it is greatly appreciated.
The issue always seems to be the same when a big firm buys out a smaller company. They expect growth to never stop, which is impossible in a world of finite resources.
The moment VC Leeches and Corporate Shareholders purchase the Golden Egg Factory, they always try to find a way to fire the Goose. And it never, ever works out.
Love you guys! Here's some more folks to go check out! Junkyard digs, dylan mccool, vice grip garage, sleeper dude, pole barn garage, jeep gear and gadgets, spite's corner, doodle on a motorcycle, 2vintage, srk cycles, and bikes and beards just to name a few. All amazing stuff! I've learned so much from all those guys. You though, yall at RCR. You got me into automotive youtube videos all the way back when the Del Sol video came out. I was 17 looking to buy my first car and stumbled on a del sol and didn't know much about them but they looked fun! That happened to be like a month after your video was posted about the del sol. I've been watching nearly every week since. Thank you guys for doing what you do. And thanks for teaching me so much.
The Lee Iacocca RCR story in particular was pure gold. I’m inclined to watch it again just from seeing that you mentioned it. Such a perfect piece. Roman rocks.
As someone who's fascinated with the business models behind RUclips "content creators", I found this extremely interesting. I had a Harvard Business School professor who said "Sometimes it feels as though the only prize for winning the pie-eating contest is more pie." Your point about the capriciousness of the algorithm and/or what gets demonetized is spot on ... the stress must be soul-crushing. When will PennDOT demand a royalty for using Route 61? ;-)
I think the FTC trying to eliminate non competes is a major factor in the recent shake ups in the entertainment space and I don't see many people talking about that aspect.
Although I don’t watch the regular posted videos every time I do love to tune in to the Roman report. I’m glad to hear you guys are proud to stay independent. That means a lot to me. Probably hits closer to home because I’m from the same area you guys always film at. I work in that area, drive the same roads, recognize the same businesses and trucks, and intersections etc. Keep on going with the channel and the small time organic ideas and reviews and videos. Thanks!
Great video Roman! It is interesting how the shifts in several channels have come in an almost wave across automotive RUclips. I don't know how much of entertainment value there is, but discussing the YT algorithm itself would be interesting. For example months ago there was a push for longer form content (50 minute plus videos) and nearly every subscribed channel (automotive or not) followed that trend. But as a viewer when you have more subbed channels than you can count and are used to 20 minute videos, you have to pick where your time and attention is going to go.
You guys, plus Technology Connections, Aging wheels, and Transport Evolved need to petition to join Nebula. As a group. All or none. Your combined subscribership would be un-refusable.
RCR is a bit too much mature humor and deep cuts for a place like Nebula. But I do feel their channel does have an equal value to those other great ones.
I subscribed to Nebula to try to support a bunch of youtubers I like but I find the whole user experience to be so awful I still just watch them on youtube. Their TV app is just super awkward and cumbersome, and the video quality is middling at best. It’s also missing a lot of basic functionality, like why can’t I get a view of only creators I subscribe to, and why can’t I block creators I don’t want to see? I like the idea of Nebula but it needs to change a lot before I’d consider renewing my subscription. Patreon isn’t ideal for supporting independent creators but it’s a way better user experience overall.
I've never seen a channel such as yours that can link automotive everything with the human condition and human emotion. You are a very special duo that has earned every subscriber and bit of success you make.
I have to listen to it at least as many times while editing as I try to find a picture with just the right amount of absurdity to go with the title. (It's a different one every month!)
I don't watch anything automotive related on youtube much anymore if it isn't from the car owner themself, and preferably from a creator that doesn't have 40 employees, 25,000 square feet of shop space, and $5M in inventory casually laying around. Everything feels like it's an advertisement, every youtube channel for automotive stuff the 'pawn stars' for cars- loaded questions, with specifically targeted car owners, so they can both mutually fluff each other up and show off their businesses. Increasingly so, car-focused channels are about multi-million dollar computer-laden supercars at a financial time as bad, or worse, than the 08 housing collapse. Car Channels whose hosts are the most bare-bones paper-thin one-dimensional personality, existing barely above ChatGPT levels of existing to just prattle off whatever is on the brochure. Worse, as a thousand channels all examine the same vehicle, I'm getting burned out on trust-fund burn outs doing burn-outs. Now I just go to local car shows and talk to local car owners.
Writers and painters and other artists have struggled with the 'content creator' image since history began - people think you're just sitting around, living the easy life, when the opposite is true - I'm always stressed out because I don't constantly have some finished product for people to consume to prove I've been working.
I never really got into the mainstream corporate owned RUclips channels, and prefer content creators who say what they want for the most part. There’s plenty of really good car channels that have less than 100k subscribers.
Farpoint Farms Restorations and Repairs is a mechanic featuring car repairs, how-to, and product reviews. Honest, down to earth guy and no-nonsense channel
I’m a religious supporter of RCR, Sleeperdude, Junkyard Digs, Pole Barn Garage, and TheeTravisB. Just car guys working on cars, talking about cars, driving cars. It’s pushed me to become a better mechanic on my own old truck, and has made my days at my regular job go by quicker and smoother. I appreciate everything all these folks do more than they’ll ever know. All Win Auto is a good up-and-coming car channel as well. Those fellas are diligent, dedicated to what they do, and hilarious. They’re just getting off the ground. Check ‘em out.
I really love what you guys do. As someone tied into the channel from the early days, even before that there was something so special happening here. And that keeps going. I hope there is a place for that as long as you're both willing. And if there's anything you ever need, just say the word.
Man I really enjoyed this. I've followed you guys now 10+yrs ago, and watching the auto yt grow has really inspired me. I finally started my auto channel Garage9D and , wherever it may grow I'm just so thrilled to be a part of this. You guys are such a big inspiration to me, between your in depth cultural analysis, to the insane off the wall shiz XD Cheers mate. And here's to 1mil damnit! I can't wait to see y'all hit it Haha
Thanks for the thoughtful analysis and discussion, as always. I'll wait as long as I gotta to get more RCR Stories. I'm a huge huge fan of supporting channels I like through Patreon and similar sites.
In no particular order: a) TLDR but I’ve already seen a few of my new favorites mentioned, like Shooting Cars, and Ed’s Auto Reviews. I’ll drop another few: Green Hawk Drive. My Old Car. Tofer’s Car Tales. b) I thought it before Roman said it: I always thought or assumed that James owned Donut. That James WAS Donut. I used to love how he wound refer to Nolan in diminutive terms. I’m guessing now Nolan was maybe his boss? Also I still remember that a thirty-something James had to take time off due to a heart attack. Granted he’s not the healthiest person in the world but that news was a shock. But now I have to wonder how much of the stressful grind of content creation induced it. c) I genuinely miss Emme Hall. She seems to be popping up again hither and thither. I thought it was a weird move to go to TFL; she was just in a different (read: higher) level than Nate or (the other) Roman. d) Dear Roman - you had me somehow thinking you were going to announce your own departure from RCR. I’m both relieved, and yet sometimes have found myself wondering, why not? But I think you’ve answered that question.
I think it's really cool of you to promote smaller channels. I've been finding it very difficult to break just a few hundred views, even when some of my videos reach that few hundred views within the first hour. It's like I reach a ceiling and RUclips pulls the plug on exposure, regardless of how successful and engaging the video is. I do have a few videos that do comparatively well, but I haven't even made my first $100 yet. It doesn't bother me too much because I work on my cars, and the work needs to be done regardless of whether or not I have a camera turned on. I just wish the videos that I know are good wouldn't get cut off at the knees, meanwhile videos I have no interest in watching persist on my feed for 3 months just because the publisher has 3 million subscribers. The Donut guys broke the algorithm because they already had a following before they started the channel, I'm happy for them, I subscribed to every one of them and I hope they do well.
I love the whole point of this video, great job Nick! Great automotive channels I watch, and support, are Sleeperdude, family oriented old car revivals with a very nice twist to it. Another great one is Pole Barn Garage, backyard mechanics at it's finest.
There use to be a RUclips channel of these creators local to me - a dad and his two daughter's would just go wander the desert looking for ruins, cool spots, etc. It was one of my favorite channels to watch! Then one day, it was suddenly a totally different channel! Same name, but the content changed to being some sort of, 'unsolved mysteries' type stuff. And it went from getting a 10's of thousands a views per video to millions literally overnight! No sign of the original creators. What the hell happened there?!?
Hoonigan unfortunately died with Ken. I've always wondered 'who owned how much' of the company. Like what % was owned by Scotto/Block and Throtl/Wheel Pros. And if it was Ken's passing that caused some amount of ownership to pass to some more corporate overlords. That being said, I don't blame Roman for focusing on Donut. If he looked at Hoonigan he would have to address the monolith that is Ken Block and his impact on the automotive mediascape. Which I feel deserves it's own story.
@@MSvento06I’m pretty sure Hoonigan got sold before Ken died. Who knows what could have happened, but I think his passing just drastically sped up the process.
There actually was a longer Hoonigan section that I cut, and it was for two reasons: Donut is the more recent story and Roman Report tries (at least theoretically) to be more current events-adjacent. The second, and most important reason, is that I was less familiar with Hoonigan content than I was with Donut, so I couldn't really speak to how/the extent to which their content changed. There was also the corollary that Ken Block meant (and still means) a lot to people, and so it was difficult to really quantify how much of the change was due to private equity and how much of it was losing Ken.
Autotea would be a good channel to shoutout, he was one of the behind the scenes guys editing, writing and other logistics with helpful insights for those who encompass every role in their channel if they are solo creators or have a small team.
I’ve been enjoying Rare Classic Cars & Automotive History, with its focus on Malaise-era broughams. Something about the appreciation for cars that traditionally aren’t particularly beloved appeals to me, and even reminds me a little bit of the early days of RCR. As for my own channel, I don’t do reviews or builds. It’s more about the roads that make having a fun car a lot more enjoyable, and the scenic nature of California’s landscape. But I’m planning to expand that a bit, doing more conversational content and incorporating California historical locations-sort of an automotive Huell Howser kind of thing.
I enjoyed James/Speeeds latest video on Carhartts journey through fashion and culture, and Bigtime has been making great fun project videos. Hert and DangerDan are still killing it making neat content after leaving Hoonigan. Getting big is not the most important thing in this digital landscape, getting followed is.
This is 100% accurate for not only the automotive content creators but also potential high interest value businesses. The corporations see the success and buy in however big or small as long as it has potential for further success.
One thing that stands out with Donut was that it was started as a "media startup", which implies it has the same goal as all startups, rapid growth and a sale. I think they probably didn't anticipate that the talent they hired would grow into valuable assets in their own right, and maybe were only targeting subscriber count. Ultimately not giving them stake or stronger ties to the company has devalued their brand. It's also possible that, like many startups, they were running in the red in order to chase growth, and they was always going to be a big push to generate profit and cut expenses at some point. I'm also still not unconvinced that some of the people behind Donut, and possibly Recurrent themselves, don't have a financial stake in Big Time. They're registered at the same business address and have already have had collaborations, and the vibes are suspiciously amicable. That would be a somewhat devious but very savy move to capture the hype of "leaving donut" and launch a new channel with proven talent that could operate autonomously.
I know will samet from the festiva community. I remember when he first started samet industries and started making parts for the group. Now I'm hearing his name in an rcr video. That's wild. Congrats Will.
Before RUclips I used to wonder how Liberal Arts majors got jobs after college. There were always way more of them than there were teaching positions. Now they seem perfectly positioned do a YT channel.
Roman really has a way of saying what ive been thinking for so long, about how boring it has all become, and how creativeness has been overlooked for so long, that unique channels and ideas have strung uo from nothing, and have really inspired channels like myself and many others, to get content out there! thank you for pushing the independent platforms and the little guy.- MIDSIZEDSEDANLIKET
Romans videos are my favorite because I feel like he (and rcr in general) really care about the sociology of cars, and how they affect people. It’s a video on the community surrounding a car just as much as it is about the car itself.
Same with Car Throttle. Two years ago Alex left and got quite successful. This year others followed him and left. The reasons all of them said the same thing as the Donut guys: the channel got bought out and they had less and less say in the videos. Kinda sad to see a channel to go down, but also expected.
I love all of these videos discussing the changing automotive youtube enviroment. I started earlier this spring and been soaking up everything I come across. My biggest mistake? Choosing the niche platform that is the star of my channel, and my small business! The 1972-1993 Dodge D and W series pickup! but its my thing, the Mopar truck.
At this point besides RCR I only mostly follow local Car Channels,. and even then they're *varying* amounts of niche. From someone who directly makes RCR but locally flavored (in Crust Media PH), to enthusiasts with certain quirks (CheeneeHazel and the mix between reviews and the very occasional weebery), and relatively bigger channels (Ramon Bautista). The big shakeups from Donut and Hoonigan is definitely very something, and even in this very channel we can feel it like how Roman put it. Also, ngl I've recently courted the idea of putting maybe one video out of say, something I'd love to submit to RCR but that's impossible because we're several countries apart haha. That all said, I'd like to say THANK YOU for doing what you do, and for also opening my eyes up to a different side of car culture beyond the flashiest and the rarest. My appreciation for the more "mundane" and whatnot has more than grown. I also share the feelings about how bad corporate enshittification has been everywhere.
It’s called Corporate Enshittification; It’s a hallmark of our age.
Bring back Wall Street regulations. Protect humans from Wall Street greed.
Culture war going into overdrive right after Occupy Wall St. was no coincidence
@@princessjezimineWait, Wallstreet was regulated at one point??
Nah, it's just capitalism. Stop making up words to avoid the real problem.
Nailed it! 🎯
Been watching RCR since the beginning. The reason I love it is because it's very obvious that it's a labor of love. Don't ever change ❤
Thank you! We're going to keep doing our best. I'm actually really excited about some of the cars coming up.
this!!!
@@LimitedTimeRoman I hope you guys can find a way to sustain your project management, and not get too big that it takes too much to handle (like so many of these other channels. Live below your means, and bring out content at a reasonable pace. We are ok with waiting, and want you and your team to be proud of each project you create! Your fans are dedicated, and we know how important the bell icon is to watch your video as soon as it hits youtube. It's the least we can all do to support this channel that has brought such great content for so many years!
I spent 15 years in newspaper journalism and was there as hedge funds bought up old media. It was a disaster on the ground. Fewer journalists thanks to layoffs every quarter and the few staffing additions made were usually reserved for "social media editor" or some other gig that was more marketing than reporting. Increasing pressure on the news-side from the ad side -- a violation of basic ethical standards -- was a constant issue.
I watched Pulitzer Prize winning newsrooms get hollowed out in a few short years. It was toxic, sad and depressing. I got out.
I did 15 years small town papers. They bought us all up, ran them into the ground and closed them.
Bought them to close them.
Increasing profits artificially to please the constant expectation of growth by downsizing, automating and sending jobs overseas.
@@bushwriter Thanks for doing the job, though, man.
@@JWA518 Right back at ya
@@bushwriter Thank you for your servive!
I salute every independent creator on this platform, no matter how many deals they have to turn away to ensure that what they make is their decision to make, that their art is *their* art.
Ed's Auto Reviews is fantastic. It's more history and from a more global perspective, but he has a genuine love for American cars, so it isn't biased.
That kid knows his stuff.
I second that, seems like a nice genuine guy too
When a creative field goes corporate the creativity is immediately taken out of the picture and only profits are chased by people without any sort of imagination
Someone needs to write a book for private equity firms that want to invest in creative ventures. The biggest points being that it’s about long-term profits, not quarterly growth. The talent is the draw. And if your audience plateaus for a while, you’re winning.
Too many business people in general chase profits and growth too aggressively and it always comes at the expense of quality, the consumer, and the long-term health of the venture.
Machinama would be a good starting place. It was run and owned by suits that had no idea what made RUclips popular.
Creators asking for permission to do something only to be denied because the suits didn’t get it. Then later the creatives sneak it in and it’s a smash hit so suddenly the suits see the light.
Maybe the entire point is just to drain a business, squeeze immediate profits, discard and move on?
Sometimes it's financially beneficial. At the end of the day, for the viewers it's passion, but if it's an investment, it's only there to make money.
This is why startups are super careful about choosing the right investor.
I think the issue is private equity firms add another tier of overhead that automotive RUclips can't sustain. Equity firms are basically owners that contribute nothing but take a massive cut if the money because there's only so much meat on the bone to go around. When the profits are kept in a smaller operation, they aren't squandered as easily and can choose what they want to spend it on.
If anything, it needs to be pointed out that creative endeavors aren't great investment vehicles. Invest in RUclips, not creators. Invest in recording studios, not creators. Invest in printing presses, not creators. Investors think they can get a slice of someone else's success and turn that into long term gains. It doesn't work that way. Market demands change and there will always be something new to draw the attention of the audience. Too many people focus on the supply side of the capitalism equation and ignore the demand side, venture capitalists included.
If they see RUclips content as a gold rush, sell the shovels.
The entire system needs to shift to rewarding companies for long term stability and the amount of money they’re paying into their local economies (how well they take care of their workers). When the incentive is to take away from the workers and water down the product in order to pay the stockholders more, this is the result.
roman report! at the end of the month!
Quote Unquote
I've only been doing this side series for six months, but I've done the theme song enough to forget how the lyrics to "Cars" actually go.
@@LimitedTimeRomanif it makes you feel better, I, for one, match it to the instrumental in my head with all the drum machine and synths juuuust different enough to be "legally distinct".
I like to think he does it live for the new recording every time
My absolute favourite recent discovery has been Garbage Time, and I think the key to it's success is that the creator, DankPods (a tech channel) already presumably had an audience with a niche interest. Garbage Time is just good clean fun, and with the capital to just throw money at s***box cars to make them go faster, it makes sense that the channel would do well
Replacing your motor oil with nutella doesn't, in fact, make it go faster.
@@currywurry To be fair, they were actively trying to kill that particular car so they could start ripping it apart for projects. lol.
The Hoonigan one really hits. That tweet. "Stuffy Corporate SQUARE takes over Radical Lifestyle STREET Brand". It looks so cynical, so boring, so "we're just walmart automotive now?"
TBF, the owner/founder is a major retail brand owner, like one of the largest in his industry. The entire company was corporate from the start. It was just, "redbull corporate". Which is impossible to sustain unless you have just gobs of money.
I think a lot of the people that join those sorts of companies are not very smart about the bigger picture of running a business that size. A lot of them are man-children that make too many mistakes and can't handle tons of responsibility (such as everyone at hoonigan).
Which is why Hoonigan and DC have almost completely caved once Ken died. He was the one adult holding it all up for everyone, creating a fun space for creativity and enjoyment. There just wasn't a way to bring in serious people without intoxicating the company with capitalistic scumbaggery, and no one under Ken that can handle the responsibility of running the company.
Yeah, like the other guy said, Hoonigan was corporate from the start. A channel being a corporation or not doesn't dictate the quality of its content. For example: Red Bull.
Not sure he qualifies as a "small" automotive YT channel, but Garbage Time (Wade aka Dankpods' car channel) is worth a watch. If you want to see an Australian torturing his nuggets and occasionally walking around scrapyards.
Most car channels don’t even have anything interesting to say about the car. Dudes like Doug Demuro have a Ferrari to review and don’t even have anything more to talk about than the glove compartment. Long form car content with real research behind it is uncommon.
I mean he never had anything interesting of his opinion to share! His drive segment was like what 5 mins?!
Or they'll talk about an interesting quirk of the vehicle without doing any research into why it exists, and just treat it like a mystery.
Content creation is the one job that’s made me want a real job more than any other job
Definitely my favorite flavor of Roman content, a nice long dive into some niche topic related to cars. You've always got an audience in me for this kind of stuff.
I'm proud to have ya!
Same, I love this
Thanks RCR and Twitter friends for the recommendation 💙
Thanks for all you've produced. It's reinvigorating in ways I'm not capable of describing.
Thank you so much! You've basically just made my day.
coldwarmotors and idriveaclassic both have roughly 60-65 thousand subscribers but deserve many more. idriveaclassic is one of the very rare YT automobile channels owned and run by a woman. Steph does a fantastic job.
RCR fans are never going anywhere. You guys are the real deal and we respect you for it.
Respect to you and Mr. R for valuing the creativity of your own work enough to deny a buyout attempt. It’s cynical, but I feel like as soon as a channel gets bought out by corporate overlords you can tell immediately. It always feels artificial and streamlined, as if all the genuine soul was polished out to present the most agreeable product possible.
Big fan of fuzzy Dice projects, it feels like a more homemade version of the old "build shows" you'd see on Spike TV
Same. Also his channel is the only one I've seen gain prominence from my home state of Maryland. Hell, I've been on many of the roads he shows in his videos.
Thanks for the mention!
BTW it is pronounced VEE-CORE, you nailed it... eventually! 😂
Shit. He did better than I would have, and I've been watching your channel for years. (Ahhhhh!)
No worries, I answer to just about anything! 😂
Personal favorite small creator: Intergalactic Binman is a great car channel focused on the history of the British automotive industry. Highly recommend!
This is why i want some of my favorite channels to NOT grow too big.
Because ive seen this situation happen SO MANY TIMES
It's like content creators don't realise that if someone wants to buy you out, it's always to cut you out and get your money that you worked hard to get.
Fault of youtube/google that pressures these content creators to make high quality content quickly, or they will not appear at the top of searches and front pages. Bit of a fault on creators that are trying to use this platform as their career when it was never meant for sustaining income. People lost their minds when they found out how much money the pewdiepie's and mr.beast's of this platform were making in the multi-millions.
Watching you guys as a kid have made being an automotive RUclipsr an ultimate dream for me!
As soon as I got my first car I started filming. Gave up on that channel and started this one and it’s looking like it’s finally starting to gain some traction!
Thank you two for making my high school years more bearable.
You're level of insight initially was something i was lukewarm about, but honestly the way you express your mind in a very constructed form, has been lately the reason why I not only devour Brian's reviews but also get really glad to see your content and immediatelly click on it. Congrats!!
*Your...
RCR, Junkyard Digs, Pole Barn Garage, Sara n Tuned, Bad Obsession Motorsports are all awesome independent channels.
The first time I saw a sell out was the magical days of Motortrend's Road Kill. My friends and I loved it so much we were inspired to do a Road Kill adventure by flying to Los Angeles, buying cars on Craigslist and then drive them home to Pennsylvania. Now I don't even click on new Motortrend videos.
On of the few great corporate channels is Jason Camisa with revelations. But that is because he has been given the opportunity to be the great presenter he is in his own style.
Ah yes I miss the old days of Motor Trend's youtube channel. Know RoadKill and Motor Trend as a whole are just as boring as any old shit you would watch on Discovery or History Channel like Gas Monkey Garage.
The old Roadkill had a certain charm to it like watching the cheap car challenges on Top Gear. It also helped that just like Jeremy, Richard, and James, David and Mike were very good hosts who knew how to have fun and have that fun show in the final product
Low Buck Garage and Mortske Repair are also top tier small channels.
As someone who always wanted to do automotive content but always felt like I had to have gear and an exciting a car to build, this is the push I needed. Especially coming from one of the first automotive channels I followed that wasn’t a magazine based page. This touched my heart Roman, sincerely the best.
Been a fan since the Dodge Nitro review.
When that channel gets up and running, just make sure to link me to your videos so I can watch!
I appreciate your thoughtful long format work, Roman. Thank you.
The way I see it, they took a check, and when they realized that check made them both comfortable and controlled, they quit.
I think there was a little more to it than them simply taking a check (it sounds as though it blew up faster than they even knew what to do with it, which is classic hollywood/rock n roll struggle, the suits get to you before you even know which way you're facing).
That said, I'm with you in a sense of... taking private equity is entrusting a team of cutthroat business and legal eggheads to run whatever venture you have to make money with. Momentum isn't infinite; it runs out sooner or later and the equity firms swoop in fast.
The story of Zero Punctuation getting bought out and eventually (and suddenly) imploding as the core talent ran off to become Second Wind has many parallels to the automotive space. Corporate incentive structures will inevitably come to blows with the content creation process (or any other production process for that matter), regardless of the near-term benefits brought by the sudden influx of corporate cash.
Auto Guild, Green Hawk Drive, Saran -n- Tuned, Mr.Wizard and The Car Care Nut are channels I enjoy watching
I watch Sarah and Green Hawk too!
Thank you man, that means a lot.
I feel like Mightycarmods are the gold standard of growing while not selling out.
As a small content creator, I felt this with every fiber of my being.
Content. Creation. IS. NOT. EASY!
Please don't stop the RCR Stories. I'm finding I'm watching them and the Roman Report more than the regular car reviews. The stories and reports are both soothing to listen to and very informative and interesting.
This is why I'm really glad that Linus Media Group didn't sell out to their buyer. They were offered I think it was 100 million dollars, and Linus turned it down.
Especially if that buyer was also trying to buy Floatplane. The only platform to my knowledge that's 100% creator owned.
I actually think Floatplane might be a good direction for more creators like RCR to look into.
And yet LMG still feels like a sellout channel.
I recommend Bill from Curious Cars. He's just so charming in a ''grumpy old man complaining about the weather'' type of way. :)
We LOVE your long content Roman! The RCR Stories are so fun and I just wish you had the time to finish the one you’re working on, and the insane amount of research you have to do doesn’t go unnoticed!!
The SAAB story may be one of the best reports I've seen.
Thank you! Seriously, I can't even explain how much that means to read. I really hope to do more videos like that in the future.
@@LimitedTimeRoman As a swede with an uncle that's always worked at SAAB, my heart will always be there.
Do a Volvo story!
Agreed, his long form deep dives are essential viewing. Among the highest quality content on RUclips.
I'm sure the effort/reward ratio is not there vs short form content but it is greatly appreciated.
The issue always seems to be the same when a big firm buys out a smaller company. They expect growth to never stop, which is impossible in a world of finite resources.
The moment VC Leeches and Corporate Shareholders purchase the Golden Egg Factory, they always try to find a way to fire the Goose. And it never, ever works out.
Love you guys! Here's some more folks to go check out! Junkyard digs, dylan mccool, vice grip garage, sleeper dude, pole barn garage, jeep gear and gadgets, spite's corner, doodle on a motorcycle, 2vintage, srk cycles, and bikes and beards just to name a few. All amazing stuff! I've learned so much from all those guys. You though, yall at RCR. You got me into automotive youtube videos all the way back when the Del Sol video came out. I was 17 looking to buy my first car and stumbled on a del sol and didn't know much about them but they looked fun! That happened to be like a month after your video was posted about the del sol. I've been watching nearly every week since. Thank you guys for doing what you do. And thanks for teaching me so much.
I mean the RCR stories are the best series you guys have, it's awesome
Mate
The tale of the dale
Saab
And Lee Iacocca
Absolutely class pieces, I get they're a lot of work but it's worth it.
The Lee Iacocca RCR story in particular was pure gold. I’m inclined to watch it again just from seeing that you mentioned it. Such a perfect piece. Roman rocks.
As someone who's fascinated with the business models behind RUclips "content creators", I found this extremely interesting. I had a Harvard Business School professor who said "Sometimes it feels as though the only prize for winning the pie-eating contest is more pie." Your point about the capriciousness of the algorithm and/or what gets demonetized is spot on ... the stress must be soul-crushing. When will PennDOT demand a royalty for using Route 61? ;-)
All Win Auto has been a really exciting channel for me to watch. I think it’s any time now before their efforts pay off big
The video where they resurrect the old Ford F600 and drive it home was S-Tier.
I think the FTC trying to eliminate non competes is a major factor in the recent shake ups in the entertainment space and I don't see many people talking about that aspect.
Because now people have the power to walk away where they once couldn't yes yes
Roman Report jingle stuck in my head for the rest of the day now.
Although I don’t watch the regular posted videos every time I do love to tune in to the Roman report. I’m glad to hear you guys are proud to stay independent. That means a lot to me. Probably hits closer to home because I’m from the same area you guys always film at. I work in that area, drive the same roads, recognize the same businesses and trucks, and intersections etc. Keep on going with the channel and the small time organic ideas and reviews and videos. Thanks!
Great video Roman! It is interesting how the shifts in several channels have come in an almost wave across automotive RUclips. I don't know how much of entertainment value there is, but discussing the YT algorithm itself would be interesting. For example months ago there was a push for longer form content (50 minute plus videos) and nearly every subscribed channel (automotive or not) followed that trend. But as a viewer when you have more subbed channels than you can count and are used to 20 minute videos, you have to pick where your time and attention is going to go.
You guys, plus Technology Connections, Aging wheels, and Transport Evolved need to petition to join Nebula. As a group. All or none. Your combined subscribership would be un-refusable.
RCR is a bit too much mature humor and deep cuts for a place like Nebula. But I do feel their channel does have an equal value to those other great ones.
Technology Connections would blend so well with RCR... same kind of nerdy humor!
I subscribed to Nebula to try to support a bunch of youtubers I like but I find the whole user experience to be so awful I still just watch them on youtube. Their TV app is just super awkward and cumbersome, and the video quality is middling at best.
It’s also missing a lot of basic functionality, like why can’t I get a view of only creators I subscribe to, and why can’t I block creators I don’t want to see?
I like the idea of Nebula but it needs to change a lot before I’d consider renewing my subscription.
Patreon isn’t ideal for supporting independent creators but it’s a way better user experience overall.
Nebula is gross just start a Patreon like everybody else.
@@fluffycritterget outta my head!!!! Your comments about Nebula are bang on.
I've never seen a channel such as yours that can link automotive everything with the human condition and human emotion. You are a very special duo that has earned every subscriber and bit of success you make.
Don’t ever stop doing what you’re doing. Especially if it’s still what you guys love to do
The Roman on the job, as usual. Have to be gone a few days but will fire up a cocktail and watch ASAP.
Love the Roman Report intro song. Need to hear it at least three times before continuing the video
I have to listen to it at least as many times while editing as I try to find a picture with just the right amount of absurdity to go with the title. (It's a different one every month!)
I like watching RCR learning that there is some "giant" RUclips channel I have never heard of leaving RUclips.
If you don't know what Donut Media is, then you are not a car guy. Just a fact.
It's like not knowing what Top Gear is. ffs.
@@sqlevolicious lol, I've never been accused of "being a car guy" as if that's some kind of requirement to consume RUclips content
i swear your reports get better and better. i love how its evolved. thank you guys!
I don't watch anything automotive related on youtube much anymore if it isn't from the car owner themself, and preferably from a creator that doesn't have 40 employees, 25,000 square feet of shop space, and $5M in inventory casually laying around. Everything feels like it's an advertisement, every youtube channel for automotive stuff the 'pawn stars' for cars- loaded questions, with specifically targeted car owners, so they can both mutually fluff each other up and show off their businesses. Increasingly so, car-focused channels are about multi-million dollar computer-laden supercars at a financial time as bad, or worse, than the 08 housing collapse. Car Channels whose hosts are the most bare-bones paper-thin one-dimensional personality, existing barely above ChatGPT levels of existing to just prattle off whatever is on the brochure. Worse, as a thousand channels all examine the same vehicle, I'm getting burned out on trust-fund burn outs doing burn-outs. Now I just go to local car shows and talk to local car owners.
Too accurate
I sing Roman Report instead of Cars now. That’s how much I love the Roman Report. Keep ‘em coming!
Corporate Donut Media is trash. That’s why I watch you guys and Collector Car Feed
Writers and painters and other artists have struggled with the 'content creator' image since history began - people think you're just sitting around, living the easy life, when the opposite is true - I'm always stressed out because I don't constantly have some finished product for people to consume to prove I've been working.
I never really got into the mainstream corporate owned RUclips channels, and prefer content creators who say what they want for the most part. There’s plenty of really good car channels that have less than 100k subscribers.
Check out Shooting Cars if you're not watching him already.
Keep it up, Roman! Great perspective and glad you and Regular have kept doing you.
Farpoint Farms Restorations and Repairs is a mechanic featuring car repairs, how-to, and product reviews. Honest, down to earth guy and no-nonsense channel
I’m a religious supporter of RCR, Sleeperdude, Junkyard Digs, Pole Barn Garage, and TheeTravisB. Just car guys working on cars, talking about cars, driving cars. It’s pushed me to become a better mechanic on my own old truck, and has made my days at my regular job go by quicker and smoother. I appreciate everything all these folks do more than they’ll ever know.
All Win Auto is a good up-and-coming car channel as well. Those fellas are diligent, dedicated to what they do, and hilarious. They’re just getting off the ground. Check ‘em out.
I really love what you guys do. As someone tied into the channel from the early days, even before that there was something so special happening here. And that keeps going. I hope there is a place for that as long as you're both willing. And if there's anything you ever need, just say the word.
Man I really enjoyed this. I've followed you guys now 10+yrs ago, and watching the auto yt grow has really inspired me. I finally started my auto channel Garage9D and , wherever it may grow I'm just so thrilled to be a part of this. You guys are such a big inspiration to me, between your in depth cultural analysis, to the insane off the wall shiz XD Cheers mate. And here's to 1mil damnit! I can't wait to see y'all hit it Haha
Thanks for the thoughtful analysis and discussion, as always. I'll wait as long as I gotta to get more RCR Stories. I'm a huge huge fan of supporting channels I like through Patreon and similar sites.
In no particular order:
a) TLDR but I’ve already seen a few of my new favorites mentioned, like Shooting Cars, and Ed’s Auto Reviews. I’ll drop another few: Green Hawk Drive. My Old Car. Tofer’s Car Tales.
b) I thought it before Roman said it: I always thought or assumed that James owned Donut. That James WAS Donut. I used to love how he wound refer to Nolan in diminutive terms. I’m guessing now Nolan was maybe his boss?
Also I still remember that a thirty-something James had to take time off due to a heart attack. Granted he’s not the healthiest person in the world but that news was a shock. But now I have to wonder how much of the stressful grind of content creation induced it.
c) I genuinely miss Emme Hall. She seems to be popping up again hither and thither. I thought it was a weird move to go to TFL; she was just in a different (read: higher) level than Nate or (the other) Roman.
d) Dear Roman - you had me somehow thinking you were going to announce your own departure from RCR. I’m both relieved, and yet sometimes have found myself wondering, why not? But I think you’ve answered that question.
I appreciate this so much. The second art starts to lack your passion, that's when lose your audience
I may watch this several times through to help me think of how to grow my own channel. Thanks Roman and RCR!
Channel shout: "Ageing wheels"
I love the guy, incredibly enthusiastic, a real sense of humour and proper quirky automotive interests.
I think it's really cool of you to promote smaller channels. I've been finding it very difficult to break just a few hundred views, even when some of my videos reach that few hundred views within the first hour. It's like I reach a ceiling and RUclips pulls the plug on exposure, regardless of how successful and engaging the video is. I do have a few videos that do comparatively well, but I haven't even made my first $100 yet.
It doesn't bother me too much because I work on my cars, and the work needs to be done regardless of whether or not I have a camera turned on. I just wish the videos that I know are good wouldn't get cut off at the knees, meanwhile videos I have no interest in watching persist on my feed for 3 months just because the publisher has 3 million subscribers.
The Donut guys broke the algorithm because they already had a following before they started the channel, I'm happy for them, I subscribed to every one of them and I hope they do well.
I love the whole point of this video, great job Nick! Great automotive channels I watch, and support, are Sleeperdude, family oriented old car revivals with a very nice twist to it. Another great one is Pole Barn Garage, backyard mechanics at it's finest.
The move away from the Burn Yard was a terrible move for Hoonigan..
There use to be a RUclips channel of these creators local to me - a dad and his two daughter's would just go wander the desert looking for ruins, cool spots, etc. It was one of my favorite channels to watch! Then one day, it was suddenly a totally different channel! Same name, but the content changed to being some sort of, 'unsolved mysteries' type stuff. And it went from getting a 10's of thousands a views per video to millions literally overnight! No sign of the original creators. What the hell happened there?!?
Kind of surprised you focused on Donut, when Hoonigan lost 95% of its talent and doesn't even have a headquarters to film in anymore.
Hoonigan unfortunately died with Ken. I've always wondered 'who owned how much' of the company. Like what % was owned by Scotto/Block and Throtl/Wheel Pros. And if it was Ken's passing that caused some amount of ownership to pass to some more corporate overlords.
That being said, I don't blame Roman for focusing on Donut. If he looked at Hoonigan he would have to address the monolith that is Ken Block and his impact on the automotive mediascape. Which I feel deserves it's own story.
@@MSvento06I’m pretty sure Hoonigan got sold before Ken died. Who knows what could have happened, but I think his passing just drastically sped up the process.
There actually was a longer Hoonigan section that I cut, and it was for two reasons: Donut is the more recent story and Roman Report tries (at least theoretically) to be more current events-adjacent. The second, and most important reason, is that I was less familiar with Hoonigan content than I was with Donut, so I couldn't really speak to how/the extent to which their content changed. There was also the corollary that Ken Block meant (and still means) a lot to people, and so it was difficult to really quantify how much of the change was due to private equity and how much of it was losing Ken.
Autotea would be a good channel to shoutout, he was one of the behind the scenes guys editing, writing and other logistics with helpful insights for those who encompass every role in their channel if they are solo creators or have a small team.
I’ve been enjoying Rare Classic Cars & Automotive History, with its focus on Malaise-era broughams. Something about the appreciation for cars that traditionally aren’t particularly beloved appeals to me, and even reminds me a little bit of the early days of RCR.
As for my own channel, I don’t do reviews or builds. It’s more about the roads that make having a fun car a lot more enjoyable, and the scenic nature of California’s landscape. But I’m planning to expand that a bit, doing more conversational content and incorporating California historical locations-sort of an automotive Huell Howser kind of thing.
Highly recommend "Its Not The Car' channel. Great racing and automotive history and stories .
I enjoyed James/Speeeds latest video on Carhartts journey through fashion and culture, and Bigtime has been making great fun project videos. Hert and DangerDan are still killing it making neat content after leaving Hoonigan. Getting big is not the most important thing in this digital landscape, getting followed is.
This is 100% accurate for not only the automotive content creators but also potential high interest value businesses. The corporations see the success and buy in however big or small as long as it has potential for further success.
Big fan of Vice Grip Garage. Derek is an authentic presenter and works super hard on everything he does.
I also recommend Mike Myke, Jackie Ding and aaroncake. Watching their videos always motivates me to work my cars.
The audience can tell genuine enthusiasm apart from corporate sheparding through legal loopholes.
The magic word is authenticity.
keep up your ethos, it keeps you unique amongst the landscape
One thing that stands out with Donut was that it was started as a "media startup", which implies it has the same goal as all startups, rapid growth and a sale. I think they probably didn't anticipate that the talent they hired would grow into valuable assets in their own right, and maybe were only targeting subscriber count. Ultimately not giving them stake or stronger ties to the company has devalued their brand. It's also possible that, like many startups, they were running in the red in order to chase growth, and they was always going to be a big push to generate profit and cut expenses at some point.
I'm also still not unconvinced that some of the people behind Donut, and possibly Recurrent themselves, don't have a financial stake in Big Time. They're registered at the same business address and have already have had collaborations, and the vibes are suspiciously amicable. That would be a somewhat devious but very savy move to capture the hype of "leaving donut" and launch a new channel with proven talent that could operate autonomously.
I was afraid rcr was changing before my eyes with all those giveaways. Glad you righted the ship
Not sure all the furries is "righting the ship" but I'm not their boss. Still enjoy the channel for the most part though
@Eric_Hunt194 Yes, I think that kind of stuff should be on a separate channel.
I know will samet from the festiva community. I remember when he first started samet industries and started making parts for the group. Now I'm hearing his name in an rcr video. That's wild. Congrats Will.
Rcr stories are my favorite man. Sry to hear they are so difficult to make but I think they are the best automotive documentary type videos out there.
Before RUclips I used to wonder how Liberal Arts majors got jobs after college. There were always way more of them than there were teaching positions. Now they seem perfectly positioned do a YT channel.
Has anyone ever called you Rome? Anywho… thank you for what you do, I’ve been here since the beginning. It’s been a lot of fun!
Roman really has a way of saying what ive been thinking for so long, about how boring it has all become, and how creativeness has been overlooked for so long, that unique channels and ideas have strung uo from nothing, and have really inspired channels like myself and many others, to get content out there! thank you for pushing the independent platforms and the little guy.- MIDSIZEDSEDANLIKET
Another great video. You rock Roman!!
You, Savagegeese, Sarah n tuned are why i love automotive youtube
0:45 - A hat cam and Uncle Pull Tab was the stuff to learns us
Romans videos are my favorite because I feel like he (and rcr in general) really care about the sociology of cars, and how they affect people. It’s a video on the community surrounding a car just as much as it is about the car itself.
Same with Car Throttle. Two years ago Alex left and got quite successful. This year others followed him and left. The reasons all of them said the same thing as the Donut guys: the channel got bought out and they had less and less say in the videos. Kinda sad to see a channel to go down, but also expected.
What a great episode of the Roman report!
I love all of these videos discussing the changing automotive youtube enviroment. I started earlier this spring and been soaking up everything I come across. My biggest mistake? Choosing the niche platform that is the star of my channel, and my small business! The 1972-1993 Dodge D and W series pickup! but its my thing, the Mopar truck.
I do miss the tube of old, talented amateurs making videos. Now it's basically PBS with ads.
At this point besides RCR I only mostly follow local Car Channels,. and even then they're *varying* amounts of niche. From someone who directly makes RCR but locally flavored (in Crust Media PH), to enthusiasts with certain quirks (CheeneeHazel and the mix between reviews and the very occasional weebery), and relatively bigger channels (Ramon Bautista). The big shakeups from Donut and Hoonigan is definitely very something, and even in this very channel we can feel it like how Roman put it.
Also, ngl I've recently courted the idea of putting maybe one video out of say, something I'd love to submit to RCR but that's impossible because we're several countries apart haha.
That all said, I'd like to say THANK YOU for doing what you do, and for also opening my eyes up to a different side of car culture beyond the flashiest and the rarest. My appreciation for the more "mundane" and whatnot has more than grown.
I also share the feelings about how bad corporate enshittification has been everywhere.