David Dobrik says YouTube earnings fell from $275,000 to $2000 after 'adpocalypse'

20 November 2019, 14:50

By Katie Louise Smith

David says he now makes "less money a month on YouTube than when I was waiting tables at a retirement home."

YouTuber David Dobrik has revealed that his YouTube income took an 80% dip following the platform's 'adpocalypse' and it still hasn't gone back up.

Sitting down to speak about money with Men's Health, David revealed just how much he used to earn before his channel was hit by a series of sponsors pulling their ads on his videos.

According to David, his videos used to bring in around $275,000 a month in ad revenue (yes, that really is a quarter of a million PER MONTH). "It literally felt like I was a drug dealer at that time," David explains.

But following the 'adpocalypse', some creators started to get paid less because their content wasn't user-friendly enough for the sponsors. David was one of those people. Even though his videos pull in more than three times the amount of views as he used to get back when he was earning that much money, he says he now only earns $2000 a month.

He also reveals that he's making "less money on YouTube than when [he] was waiting tables in a retirement home."

David Dobrik reveals how much money he used to earn before YouTube pulled his ads. Picture: Santiago Felipe/Getty Images, David Dobrik via YouTube

In the video, David explains that because he uses copyrighted songs and that his videos are "a little bit more inappropriate than the rest," his content doesn't meet the requirements for those big ad placements.

He doesn't complain about it though, saying that he wouldn't change his videos because it will alter video quality and aesthetic. "I have the best job in the world, so I can't complain... but that's some background."

David says that his pay cut actually was a "wake up call to be like, 'Hey, don't be comfortable here on YouTube. Expand your things, like with merchandise. Expand the business.'"

"It was kinda like a blessing in disguise, I guess," he continued. "It made me go, YouTube isn't forever obviously. So I gotta go and try to do other things."