Mark Cuban Thinks YouTube Has Been A Failure

The businessman sees a failed business model.

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Complex Original

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Cuban, longtime owner of defending NBA champions Dallas Mavericks and fictional investor in Turtle’s tequila, criticized YouTube’s limited monetization for all parties involved, telling CBS.com last week, “You name 100 people who are doing well and then there are nine zillion who suck,” continuing, “I don’t think YouTube has really accomplished anything.”

Since YouTube’s outset, Cuban claimed to be pessimistic, stating, “I said it was a huge mistake back then and I still think it’s a huge mistake.” He added, “All YouTube is, is Google subsidizing the bandwidth of every individual in the world.”

YouTube’s payment scale is based on CPM (cost per millie---millie is Latin for “thousand”). And so, while viral sensations such as Rebecca Black’s “Friday” racks up more than 100 million views, the payout for the uploader—Black in this case—is small as a standard $2 CPM and 50% split with YouTube equates to barely six figures. Corporations such as record labels are looking for a CPM closer to $20, but with rumors of YouTube’s operating losses at around $500 million, it seems like a pipedream.

[via Digital Music News via The Smoking Section]

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