Have you ever wondered whether creators are actually making content… or whether the platforms are quietly harvesting creators for everything they’ve got? In this episode, we dig into the uncomfortable — and strangely accurate — idea that the YouTube ecosystem feels less like a creative playground and more like a digital farm where creators produce endlessly while the system takes most of the value.

We explore how YouTube’s recommendation engine benefits from constant uploads, enormous video libraries, and creator experimentation, even when those same creators struggle to get consistent views or reach their actual audience. With over 500 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, the platform gains mountains of data and ad potential — whether individual creators succeed or not.

To make sense of this dynamic, we compare i ...