Anyone who works with gray channels should remember this:

  1. Your channel can be banned at any time and disabled from monetization on ANY media network. There are no guarantees for owners of gray channels.
  2. You should be as inconspicuous as possible. If you are exposed, then your risk increases many times over.
  3. No media network will ever declare that it works with gray non-author channels. If you see clear statements to the contrary, then know that this is a marketing ploy (at best).
  4. Non-authored content can never be considered safe, no matter what it is: periscopes, TV series, joke clips, films, clips, news, etc.
  5. Even if the author states that he is not against re-uploading his videos, he can still send you a complaint at any time.
  6. The only basis for YouTube to side with you in a proceeding is a formal contract.
  7. Please remember that music from third-party resources and re-uploads of videos currently licensed under a Creative Commons (CC) license also do not guarantee the absence of claims from copyright holders.
  8. If you use a video posted under a CC license, then do remixes, and do not re-upload the video to your channel.

Media networks for gray channels

Let us repeat - no media network will ever officially declare that it works with non-authored content. Of course, there are gray channels in every media network. Media networks regularly carry out checks and cleanings, as a result of which a number of gray channels are disabled. Including without earned money.

When is it most likely that a gray channel will be identified and disconnected from a media network?

  • You received by copyright or community guidelines
  • One or more videos on your channel are blocked worldwide
  • You
  • You contacted the support of the media network, thus drawing their attention to your
  • You earn quite a lot of money and such payments are checked manually (the amounts are different in each network, but the general guideline is more than $1000 per month)
  • There is abnormal activity on your channel (change of channel name, change in video loading dynamics, simultaneous uploading of a large number of videos to the channel, simultaneous deletion of a large number of videos or hiding them)
  • There are often overlaps with third-party content on the channel
  • In one personal account media network you have more than 1 channel connected
  • You used the same details more than once for different channels within the same media network
  • You are applying from similar addresses Email ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected])
  • Your personal data looks fake (full name: Ivan Ivanov, phone: +79990001111)
  • You are impersonating a famous YouTube creator or other public figure

Often, media networks shut down channels that have earned quite a lot of money without paying them.

Disconnections most often occur in the last days before payments. And also on the eve of the New Year, because... November and December are the most profitable months.

If the network refuses to pay, then you, as its partner, do not have any tools of influence. Whether you contact media network support or YouTube, it will not change their decision.

Summary

Gray channels can be profitable, but you always need to be aware of the risks and be aware of them.

At any moment you can be left without payment and channel. Be prepared for this and take it calmly.

Let's immediately define what a gray channel is. Gray is the channel on which other people's (non-author's) videos are posted. Some people post various clips on the channel, while others immediately download videos that they re-upload to themselves.

What is the essence of making money from other people's videos?

The point is that you are looking for other people's videos that you re-upload to your channel. Next, turn on monetization on the channel and count the “piasters”. But it's not that simple. Let's go in order now. Videos can be taken from various forums/trackers/sites. But we must remember that there is such a thing as content id. Content id is a system (given to large channels/media networks) where the author of his videos can see (in the control panel) who re-uploaded his video to his channel. He can throw a strike, or monetize the re-uploaded video in his favor. Your task is to look for other people's videos that are not protected by content id. Another situation may occur when the author himself finds a re-uploaded video, on which (most likely) he will throw a strike (copyright). How to deal with this? Create 1 more empty channel on which you will check all these videos. That is, first you upload the video to an empty channel. For what? To check it to see if the strike will come. By the way, there will be cases when this “check” will not help, and you will suffer from the strike in any case. It is the matter of time.

Monetization

Let's say you created a channel, chose a topic and uploaded videos. You will immediately ask yourself: “ How can I earn money?“? There are 2 ways. Adsense And affiliate program.

So that you understand, it is almost impossible to work on Adsense, because as soon as Adsense understands that there are over-uploaded videos on your channel, it will immediately give you “gray” exclamation marks” (crossed out dollar icon) or simply disable monetization and ask you to confirm rights in order to make sure whose videos these are. But affiliate programs allow you to avoid this, and that is why every gray channel dreams of an affiliate program. I can give you an example where you can easily take/upload/monetize through Adsense. This - periscope broadcasts of famous people. Why does this work? There is simply no content id for such videos. The author, of course, can throw you a strike, but there’s not much point. Why? For example, if you re-upload coolly filmed reviews on which the author spent a lot of time and effort, then of course it is not profitable for him, because the author understands that they are profiting from him.

Now about affiliate programs. Since September 2014, YouTube has changed its rules regarding media networks. This is no more than 1000 blocked channels in 90 days. As soon as media networks saw this change, they immediately began throwing out gray channels. Now (February 2016) it is difficult to work with gray channels because good media networks They don’t take you in. If you try to connect to air or vsp with a gray channel, then 99% of the time you will not be connected. But this does not mean that you cannot work. Why do we need affiliate programs at all? They act as “protection” for the channel. On the media network, you won’t have gray exclamation marks (that’s when you can’t make money from videos). Moreover, after the first strike, you will continue to earn money from other people’s videos, but not from Adsense.

How much can you earn from other people's videos?

There are no specific numbers. This can range from 5 to $1000-10000 per month depending on the number of channels and their growth.

How to promote your channel for free?

There are a lot of ways. For example, I promoted my gray channel with the help of social media. networks. What I did? I bought SIM cards, registered in each social network. networks, pumped up accounts (friends + posts on the wall) and from these accounts I posted links in various groups/publics. Eat paid programs who do this automatically, but I’m talking now about the free method.

It is difficult to describe absolutely everything in one article, so here are a few points:

  • Gray channels, as a rule, do not last long. Has your channel been blocked? Create a new one and upload videos. And so on in a circle.
  • No freebies. Every day you will need to check your channels for strikes. It needs to be uploaded/distributed every day.
  • Do not connect to dubious affiliate programs. It’s better to discuss this or that on the forum, maybe someone knows. Therefore, it is possible that you earn money, but the affiliate program does not pay you.
  • Creative Commons – allows you to make money from other people’s videos absolutely legally? On the one hand, yes, but on the other, no. There are pitfalls that you must read on the Internet.
  • If you get a strike on Adsense, you will be turned off from monetization for 6 months. And if you are in an affiliate program, then you continue to earn money until you are disconnected.

So, is there a future for non-author channels?

I can only say one thing: only a few will earn money. Personally, I have only 1 gray channel, which has been alive for more than 9 months, which is in an affiliate program. During all this time I managed to gain more than 45,000 subscribers and more than 7 million views. It now has 2 copyright strikes, monetization is working. I don’t develop it or work with it, because... there is no point. I’m just wondering if 1 more strike will arrive faster and the channel will be blocked or kicked out of the affiliate program (this means that monetization will disappear).

Nowadays, making money on YouTube is increasingly gaining popularity. The only thing that stops people is that they will have to work hard and for a long time to promote the channel and make a decent profit.

Having learned that you can not waste time and effort on shooting videos for YouTube, but simply upload other people’s videos to your channel and earn income, almost everyone has a question: "How to make money on gray channel?" .

What is a gray channel on YouTube?

A gray channel on YouTube is a channel that is filled with non-authored content. That is, the channel owner downloads other people’s videos, uploads them to his channel, or uses fragments from TV shows, programs, video or audio materials of other authors in videos.

Disadvantages of the gray channel:

  • You can't expect to live long on YouTube.
  • You can get a strike at any time.
  • There is no point in disputing or filing a complaint.
  • Disable monetization on one or more videos.
  • Disable monetization on the entire channel.
  • Sudden disconnection from the media network without payments.
  • Blocking the channel and account.

Making money on gray channels is very risky, and every YouTuber who has at least one gray channel is constantly under stress, afraid of getting a strike and losing the money they earned. Therefore, before creating a channel, decide for what purposes you are creating it. This will only be earnings from monetization or your goal is to reach more audiences to promote your brand, original video, translation to a website, online store and other platforms.

In the first option, when a channel or account is blocked, you will only need to create a new one. And for the second option there will be more risk, since the entire accumulated audience will be lost forever.

How to make money on the gray channel?

To make money on the gray channel and not get banned, you need to know how to do it correctly. If you plan to work with the content of a famous author, you can try to negotiate with him to legalize your channel, and you will have to share the income from monetization. In other cases it is better to work through partner media networks YouTube.

You've probably noticed that the authors of gray channels try to connect them to the media network, and this is the most correct solution. Working through an affiliate program, you can quickly and conveniently withdraw money without confirming your account. Typically, media networks do not have a minimum payout threshold, so the risk of losing income is minimal. When you receive a strike, only the amount for the last month is lost.

Some media networks accept gray channels, risking additional sanctions from YouTube. Therefore, they check the channels and take only those that have minimal risks. Read how to choose an affiliate program for gray YouTube channels and how to safely develop your channel.

A channel with non-authorized content connected to a media network can enjoy all the benefits of an affiliate program: use useful tools, music, and easily withdraw earned money. But at the slightest inconvenience for the media network, the channel can be turned off without warning without paying a penny. Therefore, when working with the gray channel, use

  • Do not upload more than 10 videos per day to the channel.
  • Create only one channel on one account, so as not to lose several channels at once if blocked.
  • Create a buffer channel, first upload videos there, see if there are any violations, and then only on the main one.
  • Don't use cheats.

Course Description:

First of all, I want to remind you once again that when you use other people's content, you are violating the YouTube community rules, therefore, you are 100% likely to lose your channel sooner or later. By creating a gray channel, you sell your time for money that you may have time to earn before it is banned. I recorded this course because this topic is actively discussed on YouTube and about 40% of our participants use “Gray Channels” to earn money.

In these lessons, I give you the most up-to-date advice on how to make your work as safe as possible and extend the life of your channels. I also want to emphasize once again that when running copyright channels, you take almost no risk if you respect the copyrights of other people. Therefore, choose for yourself what you like best, make money quickly but not for long on gray channels, or build your long-term business on YouTube by creating and promoting original channels.

In the course we will look at:

  • Pros and cons of gray channels.
  • Features of working with gray channels.
  • Safety. Buffer channel.
  • Search and check videos for the gray channel.
  • Monetization scheme for gray channels 2016.
  • Features of promotion of gray channels.
  • Other ways to make money on gray channels.
  • Frequent errors and questions on gray channels.

Under each lesson I ask questions for discussion in the comments. As you saw from the course description, there are no stories about how to create a video channel and set it up.

Gray channels are those that use videos that violate copyright (various re-uploads of other channels, TV shows, broadcasts from Instagram, Periscope and other social networks).

There is a lot of information about making money on gray channels on the Internet. But what are the realities of 2018? Answer in video:

In the future, sooner or later he will be banned by YouTube.

What's the result?

For those who have been “in the know” for several years, this article will not be interesting. But those who thought and decided to start their journey on YouTube with gray content should think again. The fact is that the topic of gray channels is not promising for 2018. In the vast majority of cases, you will not get the expected result and the output (if any) will be minimal.

Also be aware of the risks and problems that you can get by running a gray channel. In addition to what is listed in the link above, under certain conditions you can also get into trouble with the law. Additional information information on this topic can be obtained from legal reference books.

P.S. If you have a story about your pirate sailing on YouTube, please share it in the comments of this article! 🙂