Microsoft Offering $3 per CPM for YouTubers to Promote Xbox One

[Infernal Lawyer]

Honestly, it sounds like Microsoft is trying to pull a Valve where they get the community to do their work for them. Which is good; paying people to put up videos of your product is better than throwing copyright strikes at them, so good on MS I suppose.

Though I have to wonder how many of these videos are suddenly going to be struck down by the OTHER copyright owners. Hopefully MS is smart enough to keep that in check.

 

[Something Amyss]

So literally any LP'er can start off the video with "I'm playing X game on the Xbox One" and do a play video that lasts up to 22 minutes long, and they will start raking in the cash. I mean, that's basically all they have to do. Then when they want to do the next set of game parts from that same game they can simply start off the video again with that phrase. Rinse and repeat.


Eeeeeeh, I don't think this was thought through very well.

Considering the cap, I don't think it was that poorly thought out. Less than 4,000 for a bunch of free advertising.

 

[BrotherRool]

It's kind of desperate to be trying something like this, and I hope if people do go for this they at least mention that they've done that. But I'm not against Youtubers getting money for what they do

Sheesh. Advertising-revenue media has been around for much longer than I've been alive, and yet it still seems like news to most people.

Remember: If you're not paying money to see something, you're not the customer. You're the product being sold.

While you right it's also a long-standing tradition to view this as absolutely terrible when you're incorporating it directly into media critiquing that thing. Product placement in a film is fine, a film reviewer taking direct pay to mention films isn't and it's always kicked up a fuss when that sort of thing comes to light. When your job involve critiquing and reviewing games (which is basically what a large part of the Youtube games media does in some form), then taking a direct paycheck to name check the people you're meant to be displaying, of course people are going to call BS on that. I mean news companies are being called out on this sort of BS all the time.

Heck Gamespot gets shit all the time over the people they take sponsorship deals from and reviewers being bought out is a constant accusation. It's not like any of this outrage is new or that people thought it was acceptable before. The Escapist tried to avoid even having gaming adverts and most respectable critics/websites feel they need to mention when money changed hands that had a direct affect on a product.

This is going to cost them A LOT! You will have ALL the COD commentators doing it "I am playing COD on the xbox one" and 'cos they all have a billion subs, it will work BUT I would put £50 down saying that the vast majority already know everything about the xbone and have either decided to get it or not.

They're only paying out for the first 1.25 million views, so it's costing them basically nothing (1.25 million x3 /1,000 = $3750). I suspect they're hoping a lot of people will end up doing this for free because it takes time to put videos up and if the views are used up before the video is out, people will still post it.

I think it could work too. The Xbox One has the lost the USA-born media advantage it had. It's no longer the console all the big names people use and it's lost it's spot as the default console. Having a lot of people in places 'just happening' to playing the game on the Xbox and dropping the Xbox's name creates an artificial sensation that the Xbox is the popular console again which probably at least a small effect on how people think about. Especially since right now everyone thinks the Xbox is losing (you can probably tie this into the 'we should be friends' comment. When everyone believes the Xbox is being walked over, trying to make it seem like they're doing equally well is important)




EDIT: It's those terms and conditions I want to see. That's where all the worst stuff could be. Do they demand you portray the Xbox in a positive light? What are the rules about presentation? Are you allowed to mention the campaign? etc

 

[Xman490]

Microsoft is marketing the XbOne so much that I'm getting worried. It seems unhealthy to have such a massive marketing budget between advertisements online and on TV, giveaways, and now this.

 

[SinisterGehe]

snip

You'd be surprised, Tmartn (a cod guy) actually had little xbox avatars (not the animated avatars, the tiny pictures) made and charged people for it ... I would bet they sold like fucking hotcakes!

I think people on Machinima will "sell out" for anything as long as it gets them a few extra bucks. Not hating on them for it 'cos frankly, I'm a little jelly and if I was in there position I know I would do it!

I have a close friend who is a major Youtuber with machinima, I asked her about this and apparently - they indeed do have more BS like this offered to them. (I refuse to disclose her name, because I get enough spam about her on Twitter and Steam already). But she said she wouldn't take an offer like this because:
"I don't play consoles. I could use the money mind you. But I also find this distasteful as fuck. Also my viewers wouldn't click on the video enough to justify the time it would take me to you know... Record, capture, edit the whole thing."

Yeah maybe this is an offer that only major Xbox youtubers would get any use of. I don't know...
But didn't Itmejp also make some sort of cat icon set to be sold in Xbox?

 

[dochmbi]

Well, so long as they will also pay the money to people who make critical videos of Xbox One games, then it's fine by me.

 

[loa]

Time to lets play crimson dragon or to post some killer instinct matches.
That's productive marketing not spent specifically to annoy me.
Kudos to microsoft.

Edit: Oh, it's only for machinima.
Well that's a lot lamer than I thought then.

 

[gamegod25]

Seems pretty desperate to me and ultimately futile. If they want to increase sales, more advertizing isn't going to help them.

 

[weirdee]

by the way, that neogaf link just links back to another escapist article. lol.

 

[Roxas1359]

So literally any LP'er can start off the video with "I'm playing X game on the Xbox One" and do a play video that lasts up to 22 minutes long, and they will start raking in the cash. I mean, that's basically all they have to do. Then when they want to do the next set of game parts from that same game they can simply start off the video again with that phrase. Rinse and repeat.


Eeeeeeh, I don't think this was thought through very well.

Except for the fact that you must be partnered with Machinima in order to get this deal, and you don't just apply for Machinima, they recruit you if they believe you are good enough. After that you must sign a contract with them in order to even get a paycheck from them.
All in all the ones who do take the offer to do this would be considered sellouts and it would hurt their image immensely.
*sigh*
I miss the old days where only those who were with a network could monetize videos, because then LPers wouldn't be viewed a lazy slobs who don't have "real jobs" like how I see it get thrown around a lot. Really demoralizes you from doing LPs if everyone apparently thinks that way about you...>.>

 

[Elijin]

Why wouldnt you take advantage of this? Unless there are some hidden terms, the whole of it seems to be 'play xbox footage, mention you're using an xbox.' Which if you're a gaming channel, you're going to play footage and mention what you're playing and what system you're playing it on anyway.

Pending some hidden clause thats not in this news article, its exposure, not reviews, which are being paid for here.

 

[PeterV]

Machinima (not Microsoft) offers these types of promotions all the time to their network for different games, movies, shows, etc. Microsoft probably wanted Machinima to promote the Xbox One and Machinima is doing it by offering a bump to their network. They did the same thing for when Xbox One first came out. I did one of these last year when they were handing out copies of games and a bonus CPM.

 

[Pr0]

Any Youtuber worth their salt knows what a bottom dollar offer this is.

Hell even BroTeam wouldn't whore himself out for this cheaply. And that guy is one serious Candian hose beast.

 

[sXeth]

I'm mildly curious what "the guidelines listed in the assignment" is all about, unless it literally means the list of points of which it is one of. Then it's massively redundant.

I wouldn't doubt that it's something like you can't go "I'm playing Ryse on the XB1 today. <insert long rant about QTE's and bland combat>."

 

[Alex Co]

It's kind of desperate to be trying something like this, and I hope if people do go for this they at least mention that they've done that. But I'm not against Youtubers getting money for what they do

Sheesh. Advertising-revenue media has been around for much longer than I've been alive, and yet it still seems like news to most people.

Remember: If you're not paying money to see something, you're not the customer. You're the product being sold.

While you right it's also a long-standing tradition to view this as absolutely terrible when you're incorporating it directly into media critiquing that thing. Product placement in a film is fine, a film reviewer taking direct pay to mention films isn't and it's always kicked up a fuss when that sort of thing comes to light. When your job involve critiquing and reviewing games (which is basically what a large part of the Youtube games media does in some form), then taking a direct paycheck to name check the people you're meant to be displaying, of course people are going to call BS on that. I mean news companies are being called out on this sort of BS all the time.

Heck Gamespot gets shit all the time over the people they take sponsorship deals from and reviewers being bought out is a constant accusation. It's not like any of this outrage is new or that people thought it was acceptable before. The Escapist tried to avoid even having gaming adverts and most respectable critics/websites feel they need to mention when money changed hands that had a direct affect on a product.

This is going to cost them A LOT! You will have ALL the COD commentators doing it "I am playing COD on the xbox one" and 'cos they all have a billion subs, it will work BUT I would put £50 down saying that the vast majority already know everything about the xbone and have either decided to get it or not.

They're only paying out for the first 1.25 million views, so it's costing them basically nothing (1.25 million x3 /1,000 = $3750). I suspect they're hoping a lot of people will end up doing this for free because it takes time to put videos up and if the views are used up before the video is out, people will still post it.

I think it could work too. The Xbox One has the lost the USA-born media advantage it had. It's no longer the console all the big names people use and it's lost it's spot as the default console. Having a lot of people in places 'just happening' to playing the game on the Xbox and dropping the Xbox's name creates an artificial sensation that the Xbox is the popular console again which probably at least a small effect on how people think about. Especially since right now everyone thinks the Xbox is losing (you can probably tie this into the 'we should be friends' comment. When everyone believes the Xbox is being walked over, trying to make it seem like they're doing equally well is important)




EDIT: It's those terms and conditions I want to see. That's where all the worst stuff could be. Do they demand you portray the Xbox in a positive light? What are the rules about presentation? Are you allowed to mention the campaign? etc

Same. I'm curious to know if there are terms and conditions wherein the video-maker has to portray the Xbox One in a good way -- which wouldn't be surprising. Can you imagine MS paying money to people that craps on their console? I doubt that.

 

[Alex Co]

Any Youtuber worth their salt knows what a bottom dollar offer this is.

Hell even BroTeam wouldn't whore himself out for this cheaply. And that guy is one serious Candian hose beast.

Email states this as a "bonus." So whatever CPM rate they're getting, this is on top of that, it seems.