People who want to express something through video. People who want to entertain and delight others.

YouTube is an Internet video distribution service operated by Google Inc. Although there are age restrictions and other conditions, as long as you follow the rules, you can open a channel (a place to compile videos) for free, post (upload) videos to it, and distribute (publish) them. This means that your video works can be seen by more than 70 million YouTube users in Japan alone, and more than 2.5 billion users worldwide (as of 2023).
YouTubers earn income by posting and distributing their videos on YouTube, and the types of videos they post and distribute include entertainment videos in which they try various things like variety shows on TV, videos showing how they play games, and videos about music, art, beauty, and other topics. music, art, beauty, pets, education, etc. Since the videos that are viewed lead to revenue, it is important to create videos that are interesting, unique, and that make many people want to see more of them. To do this, you need ideas for interesting content, video footage shot with a video camera or smartphone, and the skills to edit the footage in an easy-to-understand manner. These skills can be learned on one's own, but to create more advanced videos, it is also a good idea to study at a university or technical college in the field of visual arts.

There is no educational background or special qualifications to become a YouTuber. However, there are age restrictions and conditions. First of all, posting videos on YouTube requires an "account," an ID and password that identifies the user, but those under the age of 13 cannot create an account. In addition, in order to earn income from videos posted and distributed, an account with Google's advertising service "Google Adsense" is required, which can only be created by those over 18 years of age; those under 18 years of age must be linked to an Adsense account owned by a parent or guardian.
In addition, not just anyone can earn income by posting and distributing videos on YouTube, but they must register with YouTube's "Partnership Program. In order to be approved for registration, the channel must have at least 1,000 subscribers, and the videos must have been viewed for at least 4,000 hours within a year. Incidentally, for "YouTube short videos," the requirement is "10 million views in 90 days.
Don't think that you can become a YouTuber right away, but first aim to increase the number of people who subscribe to your channel and the number of views of your videos.
On the other hand, conveying information to a large number of people is a very responsible job. If you post incorrect information, opinions that hurt people, or actions that make viewers uncomfortable, you may receive criticism from many people. In addition, to prevent problems such as copyright infringement and slander, videos should be created, posted, and distributed with the utmost care.

YouTubers who register with YouTube's "Partnership Program" can earn advertising fees. In this case, the advertising fee is a kind of "gratuity" for displaying advertisements in the videos that are played. Advertisers pay advertising fees to YouTube, which are then shared between YouTube and the video contributor. Advertising fees are paid each time an ad is viewed, so the more times a video is viewed, the more advertising fees the contributor receives.
There is also a system called "spacha (super chat)," in which viewers send money to support those who are "live (live) distributing" videos. The distributor receives the amount of the money sent to YouTube, minus a commission fee.
If you become popular as a YouTuber, you can use the "channel membership" system. The channel collects applicants to become members from among its subscribers, and charges them money on a monthly basis. In return, the channel offers special offers and videos that can only be viewed by members, making it a revenue-generating method similar to a fan club.
Another method is affiliate marketing (pay-for-performance advertising), in which the company promotes products or services through an arrangement with the company and receives a reward based on the results. However, when using this method, it must be clearly stated in the video that it is an "advertisement" or "PR.

YouTuber is one of the most popular occupations among elementary school students, and will continue to be a popular occupation for elementary school students as the number of people who enjoy YouTube and the number of companies that advertise on YouTube are expected to increase. Aspiring YouTubers should keep in mind that the competition is high. Even if you are an unknown person, there is a good chance that your interesting and impactful videos will attract attention and make you famous, but recently there has been an increase in the number of influential accounts opened by celebrities, athletes, and corporations. The number of viewers and the time they have to watch is limited, so as the number of people watching and the time they have to watch a celebrity's channel increases, the number of people watching and the time they have to watch an unknown YouTuber's videos will decrease. Opportunities for unknown YouTubers to succeed will become tougher.

The average annual income of those who make video production their profession is not clear; the advertising and other income earned from posting and distributing videos on YouTube varies from person to person. While famous Japanese YouTubers have annual incomes in the hundreds of millions of yen, some surveys indicate that 75% of YouTubers have an average monthly income of "less than 50,000 yen. Incidentally, the unit price of advertising revenue for YouTube videos is not disclosed and is only an estimate, but it is said that advertising revenue of approximately 0.05 to 0.7 yen is earned for each play. By that calculation, one can expect to earn 50,000 to 700,000 yen per million views.

Those who live solely on YouTuber income are often freelancers who are not affiliated with any company and do not have fixed working hours or days off. On the other hand, those who cannot live solely on advertising income often earn income from another job and YouTubers on the side. They make, post, and distribute videos on their days off or after working at another job.

Many YouTubers make, post, and distribute videos at home; there are also rental studios for people who take videos to post on YouTube, and they sometimes stream live from there.

It's a chart that shows at a glance the main routes to getting a job as a YouTuber!