There’s a wild misconception that it is nearly impossible to make a living online or on social media. Baller Alert spoke at the Revolt Music Conference in regards to how bloggers and digital content creators can turn their craft into a booming business venture. In 2015, people unfortunately still have not grasped the concept of making money in the digital world. Thanks to Forbes’ 2015 Highest-Paid YouTube Stars list, the point will hopefully been driven home that content creation is indeed the new hustle.
Once you check out how these Youtubers made millions, you’ll probably think twice about dissing a Youtube, vine star or blogger again. I’m actually surprised by how many women and people of color are included in this list. Rock on!
1. PewDiePie: $12 million
For a guy who has nearly 40 million people subscribing to his “playing video games with your bros” channel, this Swedish star, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, is notoriously private, rarely granting interviews, doing conferences or visiting the Los Angeles YouTube studios. Sorry, bro, but if you are making more than $10 million a year playing The Walking Dead, it’s going to be newsworthy.
2 (tie). Smosh: $8.5 million
Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla, childhood best friends from Sacramento, Calif., have reinvented themselves online as Smosh, a comedy act that got famous for live-action skits based on Pokémon games. It just got bigger from there: The pair runs 5 YouTube channels, including ElSmosh (Smoshen Espanol). Their first full-length movie, Smosh: The Movie, came out in July.
2 (tie). Fine Brothers: $8.5 million
Benny and Rafi Fine first drew notice—and a Daytime Emmy Award—for their React video series, in which they film people watching over-the-top videos from the likes of PewDiePie and rapper Nicki Minaj. How meta. Now they are moving from the very small screen to the small screen: In 2014 Nickelodeon debuted React to That.
4. Lindsey Stirling: $6 million
She plays the violin. She dances. Then she does them at the same time, and it’s kind of amazing. Stirling began posting her videos of herself performing in 2007 after failing to be signed by a major record label. Now they are begging to sign her, but too late—she doesn’t need them anymore. Explains Stirling: “It’s a very loyal fan base that wants you to succeed because they found you. It wasn’t some big radio station or record label that shoved art down someone’s throat.”
5 (tie). Rhett & Link: $4.5 million
Rhett McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln Neal III both earned engineering degrees from NC State and worked in corporate America before launching their comedy careers on YouTube relatively late in life (they are 38 and 37 respectively). The duo is famous for Good Mythical Morning, a send-up of morning television news shows. Nearly half of their earnings come from sponsored deals—they’ve shot sponsored clips for their channels for such brands as Gillette, Wendy’s and Toyota.
5 (tie). KSI: $4.5 million
The British video game commentator, born Olajide Olatunji, has used his YouTube stardom—almost 11 million followers—as a springboard to a music career. His hip-hop single “Lamborghini” reached number 30 on the U.K. charts in April.
7. Michelle Phan: $3 million
The self-taught makeup artist established herself with tutorials teaching girls how to paint themselves like their favorite celebs, including Lady Gaga and Angelina Jolie. She’s playing a long game; she reinvests most of the money from her projects— including her cosmetics line and ipsy, a monthly makeup-subscription service— right back into her business.
8 (tie). Lilly Singh: $2.5 million
Also known by her YouTube name, Superwoman, Singh is a stand-up comedian who leans heavily on her ethnic background (her parents immigrated to Canada from India) and is also a singer, whose 2015 world tour, A Trip to Unicorn Island, hit 27 cities worldwide.
Read the entire list HERE.
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