In recent years, a growing chorus of filmmakers and creators has been warning peers: don’t rely on YouTube as your only distribution or revenue channel.
Headlines claiming YouTube may “collapse soon” are sensational, but they capture a real and urgent point: depending on a single, corporate-owned platform leaves creative professionals exposed to economic shifts, opaque algorithmic choices, policy changes, and competitive disruption.
The sensible response is not panic, but strategy. Filmmakers should treat YouTube as a powerful tool in a diversified toolkit—not as the business plan.
Ghanaian-American director Leila Djansi has warned industry players not to depend on YouTube as the main outlet for their films, calling the platform unreliable and unsustainable for serious business.
Djansi stressed that filmmakers need to look beyond YouTube if they want long-term financial stability.
“Personally, I don’t believe the film fund. I really don’t. I think it is premature because there is no distribution. If you give the film fund how are they gonna [make profit].”
Leila Djansi
She dismissed the growing trend of banking on YouTube for profit, stating, “People think that we are just gonna put it on YouTube.”
“I’m sorry, YouTube is gonna collapse very soon. There is so much congestion on YouTube, and they are always changing their policies. So if you go in now a I think it is seriously over-saturated. If you over-saturate it, they’re gonna reduce the earnings. So how much are you gonna earn if you just put your film on YouTube?”
Leila Djansi
Leila Djansi argued that without proper distribution channels, even a government-backed film fund would not yield results, adding that piracy further diminishes YouTube’s usefulness for the Ghanaian film industry.
She also raised concerns about the shortage of skilled crew members in Ghana’s movie sector. To help bridge this gap, Djansi announced that she will host the Film Crew Networking Fixer at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park on September 24, 2025, at 6:30 pm.
The gathering, she explained, is designed to connect professionals across the entire film production chain and encourage collaboration.
Why YouTube is Risky to Rely On
YouTube’s primary mass-market monetization is advertising. Advertiser demands, shifts in ad budgets, and platform decisions (e.g., eligibility rules, changes to partner program thresholds, and how short-form content is monetized) reduce creator income dramatically. Creators have experienced sudden demonetizations or falls in CPMs before; when ad money tightens, creators feel it fast.
Visibility on YouTube depends heavily on the recommendation and search algorithms. These systems change frequently, and creators rarely know why a series of videos performs suddenly better or worse. That unpredictability makes income and audience growth unstable if those are your only metrics for success.
YouTube’s content policies are enforced at scale through automated systems like Content ID and community guideline strikes. False claims, blanket takedowns, or policy reinterpretations remove revenue or entire channels.
Relying on a single platform means little recourse when automated systems or corporate policy choices affect one’s work.
The rise of short-form video platforms and YouTube Shorts means viewership habits are shifting. Platforms often favor formats that keep users on the service longer or suit advertisers’ interests. This shift devalues long-form narrative work and lower effective revenue per hour of filmmaking effort.
New players (TikTok, Instagram Reels, dedicated streaming services) constantly reshape audience expectations and attention. A concentrated market under a few tech giants also means regulatory and corporate upheaval can ripple through distribution ecosystems quickly.
It’s important to acknowledge why creators flock to YouTube: unparalleled scale and discoverability, integrated monetization tools, easy hosting for long-form content, and a built-in audience with searching and subscription features.
For many filmmakers, YouTube is the best place to build an initial audience, showcase work, and experiment with formats. The goal is to use these strengths without making them the sole foundation of a creative business.
Addressing YouTube “Collapse Soon” Claim
Predicting a platform’s outright collapse is speculative. YouTube has deep corporate backing and immense global reach, which make sudden collapse unlikely.
However, collapse is not the only risk—significant disruption, devaluation of certain content types, or policy shifts that materially affect creators are realistic scenarios.
Treating “collapse” as shorthand for structural instability helps motivate resilience without resorting to fearmongering.
YouTube will almost certainly remain a dominant distribution channel for the foreseeable future, and it is a critical part of a filmmaker’s strategy. But platform dominance is not the same as permanence or safety.
For a sustainable career, filmmakers must diversify their distribution and income, own their audience, and plan for platform volatility. The best approach is pragmatic: use YouTube for reach and discovery, but build a business that survives whatever the algorithm decides tomorrow.
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