Two things that strike me as related: first, cellist Zoë Keating getting strong-armed by YouTube into joining their new streaming music service. Next, this story about a YouTuber who had his account suspended for alleged click fraud and his inability to get any help from Google.

These stories should scare independent artists. My opinion is if you choose to become part of the YouTube flywheel, you should prepare for the eventuality that whatever income you're making will vanish overnight with no recourse. YouTube is understandably alluring due to the huge viewership numbers and friction-free monetization (just turn on ads! What could possibly go wrong?), but today I think it's dangerous to see it as anything but a stepping stone to better things. Use it to grow, grow, grow your audience then GTFO and take that audience with you to Patreon, a sponsorship or some other platform that won't pull the rug out from underneath you.

YouTube/Adsense dominance is a problem ripe for some of that "disruption" the folks in Silicon Valley love so much.