YouTube Superstar MrBeast Points Out a Major X Issue In Exchange With Elon Musk
Under Elon Musk’s leadership, content creators on X (formerly Twitter) are able to monetize some of their viral content but say the payout isn’t much. This was highlighted by MrBeast, one of the most successful creators in the industry, whose beacon platform is YouTube where he has more than 225 million subscribers. Although the influencer posts on X, he told Musk over the weekend the platform doesn’t pay well enough for him to upload his videos there exclusively.
In July 2023, Musk’s X rolled out a creator ad revenue sharing program that would allow creators with at least 500 followers to earn income from their posts if they are verified or subscribed to X Premium, which costs $3 per month. The creator also must have five million cumulative impressions on their posts within the last three months to be eligible.
On Dec. 30, MrBeast, whose actual name is Jimmy Donaldson, posted on X about a new YouTube video he’d just uploaded. A follower replied and suggested that Donaldson post his video on X directly. And Musk joined in agreement. Donaldson then replied to Musk, “My videos cost millions to make and even if they got a billion views on X it wouldn’t fund a fraction of it :/”
My videos cost millions to make and even if they got a billion views on X it wouldn’t fund a fraction of it :/
I’m down though to test stuff once monetization is really cranking!
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) December 30, 2023
Donaldson said that he would like to start posting videos on X when “monetization is really cranking.” His high-production YouTube videos often show extreme stunts that he tries out for viewers, such burying himself alive for 50 hours and recreating popular reality shows such as Squid Game: The Challenge with a set similar to the one used in the Netflix show. In some videos he gives large sums of money, often hundreds of thousands of dollars, to strangers.
Musk’s launch of revenue sharing with creators has placed X in competition with other creator-centric programs such TikTok or Instagram. Donaldson’s main platform YouTube is well known among creators for its content monetization through the YouTube Partner Program.
According to Forbes, YouTube paid a total of $300 million to creators in 2021. Those creators earn around half of their earnings from ad revenue, while the rest comes from opportunities like brand partnerships and merchandise sale. MrBeast made $82 million in 2023, according to Forbes.
In August, KSI, a creator with 24 million subscribers on YouTube and 9 million followers on X voiced a similar opinion about X’s creator payment program. During an interview on Logan Paul’s IMPAULSIVE podcast, KSI said for the month of August he made only $1,590 even with hundreds of millions of impressions on X. That level of viewership could have brought in “hundreds of thousands of dollars” on YouTube, Paul said on the podcast.
X’s valuation dropped again this week. Fidelity estimates the platform is worth 70 percent less than what Musk paid for it in October 2022. Musk has openly discussed X’s struggle with ad revenue and has been at odds with advertisers since his takeover.