YouTube is an interesting platform, allowing creators to upload whatever type of content strikes their fancy at any time, for free. From musicians sharing their songs to actors writing and performing skits; from mechanics teaching you how to replace a fan belt to home cooks sharing their family recipes…there is no limit to the type of information and entertainment you can find on the world’s largest video-sharing site.

So why is so much of it so lazy and/or stolen? Probably because that’s what works.

While YouTube is the world’s largest video sharing platform, it is not a destination area for many people when they’re looking for original content. When viewers look for original series to watch, they tend to still think about cable television (whether on the TV or via streaming sites), Netflix, Hulu, and other entertainment companies that are well-established, rather than YouTube, which is still considered an area inhabited by amateurs. Even YouTube Red and YouTubeTV, which are both positioned to cut into the original content market, don’t seem to have made a dent in the hearts and minds of viewers looking for series to binge-watch.

So what do people search for when they land on YouTube? From what lands on the Trending tab, it seems they’re looking for all the original content that’s produced by the larger entertainment corporations listed above. Music videos, highlights and previews of television shows and Netflix series, movie trailers, and YouTube creators’ reactions to and remixes of all of the above.

With such a high likelihood that the average search will be for material that’s already produced by corporate entertainment conglomerates, is it any surprise that the videos many YouTube creators choose to make consists of simply taking that entertainment product and repurposing it in the easiest way possible? Opening up the newest music video from a successful pop star and occasionally breaking in to say, “I like this,” or “That’s terrible!” or just singing and dancing along is easy to do, gets tons of views, and generally isn’t stricken down by copyright holders, if it’s done cleverly enough.

As “content creators,” making this type of video can easily serve its purpose…bringing eyeballs to the ads that play on the platform and adding to our watch time, view counts, and subscriber lists. However, while this content is easy to make and gets the views, will it ever be truly yours? If reacting to, reviewing, and dissecting the content that’s made by megacorporations and is subject to copyright flagging truly speaks to your artistic soul, then absolutely, it’s the content you should be making.

If not…what’s the balance, and at what point is it okay to sacrifice artistic vision for a wider audience?

All things to think about as a creative person in the digital age.