I talked to Leviathan a while back because I was curious. The biggest thing that appealed to me was that they actually appear to have people at RU-vid that they can talk to. However, they only made their RU-vid rep service available is I signed an exclusive deal with them, which included a requirement that any time someone approached me directly about a deal I was required to hand that over to Leviathan to negotiate and arrange. I wasn't willing to sacrifice my independence and put myself at the mercy of their lawyers, so I didn't;t go any further with the discussion. FWIW, the contract I saw included a clause that it could be automatically cancelled if either they didn't offer any sponsors for 6 months or the channel didn't run any of their sponsorships for 6 months. Personally, I don't really see anything nefarious about them, as much as they apparently want to get the nefarious brand image. I suspect they do a really good job at getting channels the ads that you all the time, and they make things really easy for channels to work with. Lots of people want to outsource that work, and understandably so.
@@ThoraniosX Yeah.... is there any provided free way to enter those raffles because that company seems like an illegal lottery... There's a reason large companies always have a free way to enter raffles/giveaways
HUGE TIP to up and coming content creators. Keep all communication by email or text. This will allow you to have proof of claims when companies try to slander you.
Did Lucas ever get back to you on proof of Leviathan creators not giving full disclosures? I haven't seen anything on it, it looks like he schizo-posted then just dipped when pressed for evidence (only to do it all over again like a week or two later).
Dixie has been kinda blasting your ass. You’ve always seemed largely objective within your specific sphere of California based content. Despite Leviathan
Luckily Pop-Tarts and their parent company knew better than to try going after Paul Harrell with a C&D over an obvious case of parody, though knowing most couldn't afford to fight that court battle... They either did it out of respect for Paul, or because they didn't want generic "Toasties" or some other similar item to crush them in sales after the massive backlash 🤣👍
The best thing about watching gun videos for so many years is I can kind of figure out who's giving honest reviews and who's shilling. Especially when they give positive reviews to bad guns.
@@50shadesofcerakote Nah. There's a difference between a GunTuber like Demo Ranch who showcases guns and one who gives reviews. Matt's like, "Here's this cool gun. It does this!" He doesn't tell you it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, say it's good for everything, tries to make it sexy with elaborate close ups and music, and excuses or glosses over obvious flaws. Ditto Hickock45, whose demos of vintage Colt 1873 revolvers isn't much different from the latest AR. Indeed, when the AR jams he leaves the footage in the video along with his unhappy old man noises.
@@EricDaMAJ The last video I think I watched of Demo was the folding glock and he basically did all that. Then 5 other channels did videos on the folding glock all at the same time.
I legitimately want to expose the people getting paid for positive reviews. I’m totally fine with someone doing a paid ad or a sponsored demo. As long as it’s made aware from the beginning that it’s a paid ad.
"Talon Sei" censors comments that aren't complimentary of the item he's shilling for. "Honest Outlaw" pretends to run giveaways but you have to buy merch to enter. That is a *raffle*.
@@connorw1494sootch00 is so obvious about it that anyone who doesn’t realize what they’re watching …. I don’t know, they probably lost money to a “Nigerian prince” too.
Personally, I think I would be HILARIOUS if you did a RAID SHADOW LEGENDS ad, like Count Dankula does. Everybody knows it’s just for the money and he makes it entertaining. I want you to have more money. It must be noted that you must scream “RAID SHADOW LEGENDS” any time it is mentioned.
@@CBMMmercinary Average about $40 a month from google ads lol. Gave up on most vids since google will label as ad limited so we just mention our store and hope for the best.
I’m relatively new to the Guntuber game and mostly do shorts. ~300k subscribers ~66 million lifetime views. My total lifetime YT revenue as of writing is $2,209.03. Seems like RU-vid has really changed with ad revenue since the FPS Russia days. I had one gun short get 11 million views (monetized) and make $90. Another short that wasn’t shooting content has 7.6 million views and I got $1k for it. The short with three million less views made $900 more simply because it didn’t get stuck with the “Shooting/Guns” CPM. Thankfully this is just a hobby for me. My heart goes out to those trying to make Guntubing a job in 2024. Also lol @ 14:49.
Shorts are as useless as tits on a boar hog for ad revenue, especially if gun related. If not gun related then I find ad revenue is higher but still it's a tough field to hoe. There is a debate going how much shorts are useful for bringing people over to your long form content. I think my conclusion is the conversion rate is very small and it's two different types of audiences, one with attention deficit disorder that just wants a quick hit of entertainment and the other with an interest maybe in learning something. I still make shorts just for fun because I can be creative, make them quickly and simply, use what music I want, etc.
I really admire your approach to reviewing optics and greatly anticipate the growth of your channel. I also very much appreciate the effort you put into your channel while also being a family man.
I work for one of the companies Hop gave, what everyone at the shop considered a somewhat harsh, but still a fair review. I've been in the industry for a lot of years, and personally I enjoy the niche creators who can give me more than "what does a X do to a human head" (I've probably seen it, and may not have positive memories about it). Money is what makes the world go 'round. Without it things just don't happen because there's no incentive for it to happen. In the west we've been collectively advertised to since before we were born, ads for baby products sent to our mothers and fathers. We watched the GI Joe, Spongebob, or whatever commercials when we were kids, surely anyone growing to adulthood in the last 60 years realized that advertising is what allows the quid-pro-quo of a lot of "free" things to happen. Granted, we are in an age of surveillance capitalism, but that's another topic entirely. Fact remains, I like what you do, and I'll do what I can to support you, both of you.
yeah. I would absolutely not care. it’s not tricking me into spending money on bad ammo or low-value gunsmithing classes. they could do ads for feminine hygiene products and I’d be like “get those tampax dollars brothaz!!” (as long as they could stand behind the product)
This has actually been one of the most informative videos I have seen on how and where money exchanges hands for videos. Appreciate the upfront honesty of what these paid sponsorships look like and what the payouts are.
@@Brent-jj6qi the difference is that 90% of jobs that 'require' a college degree just want you to have a piece of paper saying you went to school. If you want to be a gunsmith, you need to know how to be a gunsmith
@@mwal223 sure, but you can know how to be a gunsmith and still need the stupid piece of paper to get a gunsmithing job even if you’re otherwise perfectly qualified, so I don’t see degree mills as hugely bad in todays society
The blatant ones are easiest to avoid. 22 Plinkster pimped his master's Uppercut 22lr a few weeks back, and then it was proven to be absolute garbage ammo. He's chosen to die on that hill because he knows where his next payday comes from. The latest to out themselves as untrustworthy is "Honest" Outlaw. Talked absolute shit about Kel-Tec for years, then suddenly the meekest, most apologetic Sub2k (Gen 2, NOT 3) dropped soon afterwards. Guess he didn't want to lose his spiffy new range to litigation lol. We as a community will be losing a part of our souls when Paul Harrell passes...
"Talon Sei" censors comments that aren't complimentary of the item he's shilling for. "Honest Outlaw" pretends to run giveaways but you have to buy merch to enter. That is a *raffle*.
If it's by "get entered to win" then it is literally and legally a raffle, and you can enter for free as required legally... It's all fairly simple to find on their website. I've just looked at it, never bought anything or entered, but "get entered to win" is just a raffle made as a way for you to aquire one time run merchandise to support your favorite content creators at inflated prices given the fact that it's a way to pay the creator and the raffle company, not a regular charity raffle... I can see the appeal of receiving a physical item you deem neat in return for your money to support a creator rather than just using one of the direct donation options where perks are often limited or non existent. But the entire point is supporting the content creator, not watching videos a week early or thinking you'll actually win the raffle... I'm not sure why people have such a problem with this raffle concept and call it a scam? Honestly I think it's a pretty good idea that may pay better than typical in video ad sponsors, while allowing the supporters to actually get a unique piece of channel associated merchandise... Sure it's probably "overpriced" coffee mugs, clothing, and other random merch, but the whole idea is supporting the creator, not actually winning the raffles or getting the best price on a coffee mug... I don't really watch honest outlaw, but I don't see how it's "shady" or a "scam" if he is using the "get entered to win" company for the contest/raffle, because I've read their drawing rules and it's just a typical raffle with the expected rules/exemptions/legally required free entries. 🤷♂️
I'm receiving a gun for a review soon. The company asked how I run my reviews (free ammo, money, etc...) I told them that had they offered me money, I would have hung up on them. I don't have a problem with ammo or a free product, as long at the creator discloses it. Which I always do. I've been considering doing a video much like this as it pertains to my individual channel. Great video!!
I say no to leviathan like 95% of the time but that’s probably because when I do an ad it’s because I generally really vibe with the product and the ad does well. I think people who take every ad are selling themselves short long term.
If I recall this is your hobby not main gig. I suspect smaller (and larger channels that want really expensive sponsor) don't have that luxury. I say that as many of these ads fucking suck.
I think running an ad spot consistently, no matter what it is, is something people can expect from large channels without most people being turned off by it. The little time my children watch YT I tell them to let the ads play so long as there is no DEI. Creators deserve a paycheck when we watch and I'm not sending cash.
@@PatrickKnieslerYou are essentially indoctrinating them into consumerism and psychologically developing negative behavior traits with respecting ads. The more you see and watch ads the more likely you are to be influenced by them. If this was not true, why do ads work. Sure they may not be as susceptible and be able to ex cerise the spending tendency young, but carrying the habit as they get older they will be far more prone to fall into advertising propaganda.
I can't say I'm surprised, but it's good to hear it. Several years ago, I experienced something similar in the space industry. I "moonlighted" (pun not intended) as an editorial writer & photographer covering the domestic space industry. I prided myself on writing fact-based pieces, clearly stating where my editorial bias was interjected. One time, I happened to be at an event at the then-largest spaceflight outfit in the US and scooped a HUGE piece of information about a particular, high-visibility program. The PAO pulled me aside afterward and begged me to not publish the information because it wasn't even known to Congress, much less the public. Because I felt "special" that the 800-pound gorilla knew who I was at that point, I was flattered and decided to not post that piece. I thought I was doing the right thing to preserve the nascent relationship I was building there, confident that it would lead to bigger access. It didn't. When the news was released a few months later, the gorilla promptly forgot who I was and I had no greater access than I'd had previously. I should've maintained my integrity... published the piece... and been true to me. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there... and I got eaten on that one.
This is how Washington DC works. “Journalists” (soulless shills) agree to do the bidding of politicians in exchange for maybe being invited to the WH Press Club gala night debauchery some day. If you ever read the Podesta emails, Podesta (Hillary’s campaign manager) didn’t even have to reach out to them, as they were lined up, pants down, ready to lap up anything the Clinton campaign excreted in their direction. They were slavishly volunteering how they were on board for Hillary years in advance, in fact. The US has rarely had actual journalism, even dating back to the 1800s.
Thanks for teaching me new information about how the industry works. I’m most thankful for channels like yours and Hop’s simply because of the transparency and honesty regardless of profits gained or lost. Keep up the good work. Much love from Texas!
You’ve literally given me potentially life saving information, in addition to the hundreds of hours of entertainment. I don’t have a problem at all with you guys making money so you can continue doing this. I hope you do! The only thing is I hope you continue to be clear about any bias when doing reviews.
Yea, the dude has taken a ton of what I enjoyed from garandthumb and ruined it. I literally can't stand the guy.... He's not funny, pretends to be a gatekeeping expert when over half the things he speaks on and blurts out is just nonsense.
@@NamFlashb4cks GT ruined his own channel, the direction it's gone is entirely within his control and this is what he's chosen to do with it. It's sad.
@@frankholub4673 it really is a shame. He used to be my go-to for reviews and now it’s just like “oh yea I can’t wait to watch your personal jarjar binks make 27 boobs jokes in 5 minutes with these breast implants that you’re seriously dedicating a whole video to”
I give the dude credit. He did the work and has done for longer than most. That people whine he's groveling for more Patreon supporters, well the reality is that no gun oriented channel is going to last solely on YT ad revenue alone. The gun folks are sometimes their own worst enemy with this crap. If people want gun content they have to back it themselves because while YT lets most gun content be on here, they are not exactly tripping over themselves supporting it, nor are general advertisers widely supporting it.
I have really enjoyed these style of videos. Hop casually talking comes across so differently than just a direct product "review" and he legitimately has some of the best and well said points out in this type of media. I went over and subscribed on Nova to get more. BF, i have been following you for a while and appreciate the evolution. keep it up.
The jab at SDI was much needed "I wouldn't recommend anyone spend their money on that" is something I've been saying for a while now. I never went to Gunsmithing school, however have been training under a couple highly skilled smiths on average a few hours a week for years now and can and have talked circles around SDI students and left them questioning their own schooling. Recently, I was asked by a SDI graduate if they could transfer their AR barrels through our FFL because "The barrel of an AR is serialized and required a background check" apparently his SDI professor had told him that amongst many other wrong "Facts".
@@Lord_of_the_Edgelords At this point I'm not completely sure if influencers actually know that SDI is a scam though. Although, it should be obvious since any online trade school is a scam. On the outside looking in, it does sound like it could be a good idea if executed properly, they just don't do it right. You sign up for online classes, they send you a ton of high quality tools and then the classes are basic beginner stuff you can find on RU-vid. There isn't anything that SDI teaches their students that you cant learn from buying the tools yourself and following RU-vid tutorials. Someone that's really busy like Brandon Herrera for example, probably just either never looked into it and thinks it sounds like a good idea from the outside looking in, or just doesn't give a fuck and wants the money.
This breakdown is great tbh. It’s amazing how much people think you make from RU-vid when they pay 1/10th the ad revenue to gun guys. This stuff costs me everything, I don’t make money-I lose it every single time. And I will still get called a schill if I have a good or bad experience with a product… Calling out the companies for refusing to work with people because we make not always positive reviews is really what needs to happen. We do tend to only try out products we think may be good, but that’s because I have to buy them, which makes it suck more when they suck…
That must be incredibly frustrating to be called a shill while taking money out of your own pockets to make reviews. Companies who can't take criticism just can't handle the free market so they have to try and be sketchy and manipulate people.
YT is no different than any other low barrier to entry, high rewards at the top industry. 95% of channels never make more than 3 videos, 99% never make more than 20 videos, only 1 out of every 500 channels ever gets monetized. I don't have data beyond that but probably only a very small percentage of monetized channels ever make a living from it. In contrast if you tell people you are a RU-vidr they think you are a multi millionaire. You make a one or two videos, they go viral, you make millions and retire famous, that's what they seem to think anyways. The reality is very different!!!
Thank you both for bringing up SDI. As someone who went through a course at SDI..... The only value I got from it was my Aero AR10, and now I have an 80% lower jig to be used with a router. Do your research guys. There are cheaper options that will actually send you a benchtop mill/lathe combo, and teach you ACTUAL milling, heat treating and, well, gunsmithing.... Wish I had found that out sooner.
@@MrNpc81 the one I was recommended after was something that starts with an R, and it’s in California, can’t quite remember. I’m just going to do machining classes and go from there. The other part of classes is the legal aspect of it all, so I would still recommend going to an actual gunsmithing school for THAT. SDI did an alright job on that side, it was mostly the hands on learning that they just completely dropped the ball on.
I can't speak to SDI vs other programs, and it may be different in gunsmithing, but have worked in small scale manufacturing before and no to little experience is better than bad habits 100% of the time. The company I worked for had a no hire policy on 3 local welding programs because teaching them from scratch was easier and cheaper than dealing with all the wrong shit they learned.
@@justadudewithopinions6209 I can’t even say that SDI taught wrong shit, it just didn’t really teach you shit. Everything we went over in those classes, I knew beforehand, including all of the law stuff you were taught in there. I could have spent 1/2 the money and gotten out of another program with the LITERAL tools and knowledge to start my own business, but all I got from SDI was an 80% arms router jig for AR10/15 lowers, and an Aero M5 builder’s kit. The best example is can give is the scope lab, where they sent us all a $50 AIM Sports scout scope, and a $30 brownells ring lapping kit, or the finish lab, where we got a bottle of cold blue, and a hydrodip kit
I don't blame creators for getting sponsored by stupid companies (as long as it's not literally fraud) but i applaud those that decide against it. Edit: talking openly communicated sponsorships. Lile the stereotypical raid shadow legends, manscape, sdi, etc. Not stuff like the leviathan group bought reviews shit.
VPN companies are trash. Ex-IT guy here. Somebody made VPN infrastructure and throws brands on top of the infrastructure. One bad PR hits like getting hacked or leaving a customer database unsecured, they dump that name and restart a new one. NordVPN had issues in the past, one incident was they're in the business of renting servers from worldwide data centers. Someone gained access to a management console on a management network, accessed a NordVPN server and dumped the contents of the VPN server running in a container which included the configuration files on the server
I don't understand why people are shocked that a NEW product is being MARKETED with POSITIVE reviews that shoot 500 rds. Simple rules ,wait 1 year after initial releases 2. Check company history about warranty claims 3. Make sure you can afford it
Just in dabbling in journalism for sports, if you come off as overly negative toward the athletic department you're watching/interviewing coaches/recruits for, they shut you out. That simple. When you're dealing with access, stuff can have you out the door fast if you're not at least careful. Sometimes you can get away with being tough but fair, a lot of times you have a hard time doing that and maintaining access. It's super annoying- even if I don't like journalists that much they'd ask tougher questions if they could actually do so without getting told to beat it. It does bias coverage.
my favorite gun guy on youtube just uploads edits of himself larping in the woods with music. he did a couple reviews at one time but it was more of a "i got this for $300 at a pawn shop and i'm going to make it my primary weapon" vibe.
They address that in the video when they talk about journalists (in many fields) choosing to lessen a negative comment so as to keep their "early access" in good standing with a company/manufacturer. Companies however should understand that by putting their product out for review by these people that the expectation is an unbiased review. A company cannot expect exposure + advertising without also accepting criticism. That's a fact. And I feel like Hop and Brass Facts both give companies chances to make right when they have issues BEFORE they even put out a video! As a viewer, their opinions carry more weight. Their videos to me are closer to what I should expect my experience to be as a consumer. Other channels are purely entertainment (with the understanding in the back of my mind, that my experience would likely be different with the same product). Like demo ranch and garand thumb. Entertaining. NOT = to my experience as a consumer.
Depends. Speaking as someone working on his CPA, the IRS won't recognize it as taxable income. Whether it goes to the individual as a gift or to their LLC/Sole Propietorship as a goodwill equipment/inventory transfer (i.e. a "sale" no liability to pay). The only instance where a gun can be considered income is if its won via a raffle or giveaway. Outside of tax reporting? It's called consideration and definitely can be considered as payment.
I disagree- we mention if a gun is free, but I would note that I don’t consider a gun payment because I’m still spending $1000 on ammo to make the video… which means I am mad if it still doesn’t work
@@DeskPop that is what we call a loss, but a gun can still be considered as a form of payment. You just happened to net out negative at the bottom line.
@@Visual217 going back to the video and the original comment though... My, albeit limited, understanding is that anyone reviewing a product (not just guntubers) are not "compensated" by simply receiving a product on loan to review. While you can argue "it's a form of payment" in and of itself, you be hard pressed trying to tax someone for being "paid" in joy/entertainment by simply trying a product. After all, they do not keep the product.
I appreciate your transparency. RU-vid used to be a place of learning and sharing information and now it seems that so many channels are nothing more than long form commercials. Your channel is a clear exception to this.
Thanks a ton for doing this video, I have kinda sorta put together the pieces over the years, but man is it tough and only after watching probably an unhealthy amount of gear reviews. Having a somewhat insider compile all the data in one place as a word of caution to newcomers is SUPER valuable to the community. Keep up the good work!
The fact modern people have problems with sponsorships or advertising on media are fools. It’s been that why since the first town crier encouraged travelers to visit Lars the blacksmith. The idea media (any media) is non-bias is farcical. I think it’s a sign of our sad educational system. People don’t understand the human condition. Salesmen will always talk up the product. As a buyer it’s your responsibility to educate yourself on the item. It’s been that way since the beginning of time when Ed the caveman sold Joe the caveman a elk bone necklace.
This is honestly a really important and insightful video. I feel like guntubers that are viewer funded to a significant extent should be more transparent about their revenue. After all, as a supporter I‘d lien to know how much of my support goes towards production vs. personal finances.
Also, affiliate links in the gun world honestly ain’t worth it to me. The payout is usually 1-3% and quite frankly that’s not a whole lot considering what it costs your reputation to push them.
I unsubscribed from Backfire once he started personally advertising an imitation Japanese Chinese made kitchen knife that was made out of pot steel. Not even knife steel. If you’re trying to sell me a pos knife on your gun channel, how do I know your view on firearms isn’t BS as well.
"Talon Sei" censors comments that aren't complimentary of the item he's shilling for. "Honest Outlaw" pretends to run giveaways but you have to buy merch to enter. That is a *raffle*.
Love this channel, and this kind of video is exactly the reason why. Kudos to you guys for laying it out to us. And btw, yes compliance with laws is needed and being upfront about connections as well. But people should also stop whining about it. If the content is free, you‘re the product. And that saying is now really old already, so everyone should have caught up to internet reality
I apprecite your honesty, legitimately. I am however glad I didn't sign the contracts I was offered when they were offered. That said, all of these things are what is wrong with our "community." I get you have expenses, I have them too, and I know you made different choices, which is honestly fine. Your transparency is nice, but the financial compensation is always going to be something that taints any review you do. Some channels more than others.
both also make interesting videos about subjects and their products, sprinkled with some humor to top it off. Venture with surplus gear and Americana with historical militaria (i guess that's what we can call it?)
Technically falls under the "embedded ad" category, but the "buy worthless item for raffle entry" category regrettably seems to be gaining traction. Not sure if it's better or worse than pay-to-advance addictive "games", online classes that are either not necessary or not sufficient get into the industry, VPNs worse for privacy than Tor for free, overpriced earbuds, beard shavers, ball shavers, fake titles of nobility, partially prepared food, or whatever else is popular.
A lot of this video comes off as grand standing and trying to manifest credibility to yourself tbh. That’s just the way I view it personally. There are some obvious points that are impossible to have an issue with, such as taking money for a positive oriented review. Obviously, that’s problematic and I think everyone can agree on that. However a lot of the stuff discussed is a non-issue. If you can make money and not be directly hurting somebody, you should. It is possible Garand Thumb could be paid to wear those pants. It’s also possible you were paid to wear that watch. Who knows? Unless every single thing is explicitly clarified in a video, it’s anybody’s guess. Ultimately it’s always the consumers responsibility to do their own research of what it is they’re going to be buying, and that extends further than just a YTers opinion. It is your duty to ask a friend, read forums, comments, Reddit, anywhere you can find public opinion from the average person before buying a product. “Brass facts told me this product was good so I bought it but it sucks I suspect they were bought out to say that” Okay? You should’ve done more research rather than just click the affiliate link and buy it. Not going to garner any sympathy from me. All a RU-vidr really is, and is ever going be to a wise consumer, is advertising. You have no expectation to be correct, or that I’ll agree with you, to have a good take etc. that is for me to do on my own through further investigation, and you know what? If it isn’t possible, tough. Sometimes you just lose out on a purchase. That’s the way buying something works. Ultimately I don’t think this video benefits anybody and doesn’t keep your viewers more safe, but if anything it hurts your comrade GunTubers. Just my own feedback 🫡
It maybe somewhat counterintuitive, but I prefer when something is clearly biased. Fake objectivity is far more infuriating and subversive. At least if someone acknowledges bias, you can more easily value their opinion, where as someone pretending to be objective makes it far more difficult to see where that line is. This is why I hate the NYT and NPR so much, but Vox can be more tolerable to me.
You and Hop are my favorite and most trusted reviewers because how honest you are. I really feel I am making an informed decision when I watch your videos on product I want to purchase.
It's hilarious to me that most RU-vidrs think getting free guns, product, ammo, expenses, etc. from a company is different than getting direct payments from said company. It's the quickest way to know what you're dealing with. When you hear "I wasn't paid for this review" and "I was sent this for free by company X" in the same video, you should know what you're dealing with.
This is one of the most insightful videos on the subject (one of the only I can recall) that exposes that there are Ad/Merketing people for an organic set of marketing people (RU-vidrs). To me, there are several people doing RU-vid who should be designing and manufacturing products rather than looking for “easy” dollars. Hop and Brass Facts are 2 of the people who I think would do very well at product design and development. A lot of other people don’t have the brains for it, pure and simple. They can do reviews and opinions on things they could never create, whereas some of the more cerebral and visceral minds can actually offer something to the market in hard goods.
I agree with most of what both of you presented. Id just add 3 things: When you pay for a product you are expecting the value to be represented in that purchase and it may be that in not actually spending your personal money on a product can soften the critique. Many reviews, understandably so, are based on personal likes and preferences. There are many guntubers that place a negative or positive view on a product and hold it as the final verdict not understanding that other consumers may have a different preference. And finally in certain aspects, in my personal and very limited opinion, it seems as if some guntubers dont understand who watches gun reviews. Reviewing products that are more in the price range of a small private military than an average American citizen. I understand that every "content creator" has their niche and there is amarket for such products but i get a little nervous if i see that a guntuber only reviews the 3000 and up ar or 2011 and NEVER has anything negative to say. Well thanks for the video. Btw one of the guntubers that i find that are brutal in the reviews are gunthots. Somebody please kidnap them and force them to make more videos.
I really like your guys' no-nonsense style of reviews and critiques. I think that being transparent is important and I appreciate how much you value us as viewers. Lastly thanks for sticking to ads and sponsors that you guys use and genuinely like.
I really am not offended by people running Raid Shadow Legends ads. In a way it seems there's an advantage that it's irrelevant because there's zero chance of a conflict
Good content. Way to be honest as possible without throwing fellow guntubers under the bus. I appreciate you two. Please stay true to the game for us average guys who don't contribute to patreon.
The 3rd party bias makes sense since I got the notifications Turned on for brassfacts and didn't find this video till 3 days off but grandthumbs video about the 223 mp5 was recommended top of the list Everytime I refreshed. Not to mention every gun toober all of sudden is a avid brassfacts viewer cause the topic at hand.
Another thing to keep in mind is RU-vidr's are primarily in the entertainment business, and entertainment is valuable, especially in [current year]. I'm not opposed to money being exchanged since at the end of the day, RU-vid videos are entertainment. Of course this has it's limits, but if you start shilling my favorite game Raid Shadow Legends, I'm not gonna be upset. Even RU-vidrs deserve to eat sometimes.
I really appreciate it when creators film their ad section completely separately from the rest of the video. Makes it very easy to skim past it. Do the raid shadow legends bits, get your bag.
You know the topic is interesting when I sit through the ad just to hear how you pitch it, after hearing that you can pitch it however you choose. Nice work, ass facts.
One trend I absolutely hate is the "do you want this cool [insert item]? I have partnered with a veteran owned company called get entered to win!" copy pasta, where you have to spend 50$ on a worthless "collectible" sticker or mug to get a tiny chance at winning a 3000$ gun. This is especially annoying with Forgotten Weapons, since he will proceed to make a week worth of content dedicated to that one gun. Adding insult to injury is the fact that he used to say that the channel was supposed to be an "encyclopedia of firearms", which is now polluted by an ad that won't be relevant a week from now. Made me lose the respect I had for the man. Rant aside, thank you for being transparent about this subject and avoiding these scummy practices, your channel is a breath of fresh air!
Yeah it seems that channel has made a decent amount of revenue over the years. . .does it really need the imbedded ads? It's a bad bad look. I've kinda stopped watching 90% of the FW videos cause of that crap.
Yeah, but he probably got a taste of the perks that come with being successful and not really facing any consequences. I've also pretty much stopped watching most of his videos, I feel the most interesting (at least to mr) and famous guns were already featured and he present variations of guns, new products and ads disguised as videos....
@@lazylobster31 Apparently there's an entire group of historical based guntoobers on another website hosted by them, that's centered around FW and a couple others. This is cool, but. . .not why we look this stuff up on RU-vid. We use THIS platform because at one time it was an interesting place to see videos on things that we're interested in. We didn't care about stickers or "joining" a channel or monthly donation based subscriptions for "cool, early videos". So many of these tactics just make the channel feel disingenuous and detached to casual viewers like us. If we want to spend money, we have a plethora of options, we're here because it's free.
You missed merchandising ("where the real money from the movie is made"). Demo Ranch and Johnny B did it so well they started self-sufficient merchandising companies that do not only their own but dozens of other RU-vidrs' merch. Merch essentially works like direct support (Patreon) but with the added bonus of your viewer now becomes a walking billboard (which might not be a good thing depending on the viewer). Whether it's cost effective depends on scale, do you sell enough to make producing the products worth it?
@@BrassFactsyou didn't list day job as a form of YT creator income, but I guess there's no bias there. Coming from the hobby-farmer side of YT, most everyone makes sure to mention that farming is their second full-time job.
Honestly I like yours and Hop's videos because y'all say some brutally honest things. Another cool thing y'all do is pay lip service to niche ideas instead of just ignoring them and acting like your ideas on a gun are the only right way.
I paused this to check out your ammo purchase chart. I saw quite a bit of 62gr. I stick mostly with 55gr XTAC and 77gr AAC now myself. It would be interesting (and cheap) for you to do a vid explaining your ammo preferences and when/how you use different loads.
Never have a paid for subscriptions to guntubers before you and Hop. I did the top tier on subscribe star because you guys easily put out the best content. I also like Barrel & Hatchet and the new off shoot trex arms channels from his brother Issac.
This is why I like you guys, thanks for giving us regular folks a peek under the hood of what you might assume would be an unbiased dream job. Fight the good fight!
From what I understand, RSL has very strict requirements for their ad reads. Certain length, certain phrases, etc. They intentionally make it hard to do it in your own unique style.
@@Mandalore6311 Certain phrases? There is an old jewish joke about a musician who, after insulting his rival - was court-ordered to issue apology and publicly say after concert that his rival isn't an idiot. He loudly screamed "Mr X isn't an idiot?!? Mr X isn't a hack?!?" and then calmly explained "court only ordered certain lyrics, not the melody".
Explaining the grey zone ethics of product reviews the whole video and then ending by explaining Hop's harsh but unbiased aproach leads me to believe that this entire video was a Hop advertisement 💀
Legit I'm glad to have you guys doing this content. There's a genuine nature to both of you and your work that is hard to find, and worthy of attention. You're real people with real opinions, it matters and I hope the best for you.
This is why I love your channel and actually trust your reviews. You're honest about relationships and income, and if you're honest about, surely you are about how an optic performs or a piece of kit feels, etc. Keep up the awesome work! ❤
To be fair , that’s just an information embargo . Like no one’s in any companies pocket when every creator starts posting the new shot show/ gun from the convention at the same exact time
@@Leadfarmer399 and to add to that, there are other legitimate reasons for this as well. If something just came out, and people are searching for videos of it, or a competitor's video on the same topic/item just BLEW UP, it makes sense to play the algorithm and make a video on it at the right time. But yeah, you can usually just *feel* it when it's a placement. Garand Thumb and Brandon Herrera started feeling different... that's all I needed to know, combined with the timed videos.
I have turned down sooooo many offers to talk about products that I just dont believe in or are not relevant to my gun channel. Rather than create bias reviews and what not, im working on creating valuable products myself to sell to the community Like reloading how to guides, books on my personal experience with mislurp rifles, and a few other things
