YouTube star TomSka 'makes thousands' every month

When it comes to money we all use it, most of us earn it and nearly everyone wants more of it.

But unless your surname is Zuckerberg or Page when it comes to the internet, making money for a lot of people starts and ends with sites like eBay.

Not for 20-year-old student Tom Ridgewell, who's one of a new generation of YouTube stars making thousands of pounds through the site every month.

"I like to think I work in comedy," he says.

"I just try to make funny videos really - ones that make me laugh."

He's written, produced and directed dozens of short films, sketches and cartoons.

But get onto his channel and it's the numbers that really stand out: 55 million views and 220,000 subscribers - numbers he's been able to translate into money.

"They put adverts around your videos and you get a cut of that," Tom explains.

He wouldn't give away specific numbers but told Newsbeat he earns between £3,500 and £7,000 each month.

Hobby to career

The student makes his money through YouTube's partner programme.

Patrick Walker, the site's senior director for partnerships and content in the EMEA region, says users can do very well.

"Some people have been exceedingly successful in not only making some money but actually turning it into a career," he told Newsbeat.

But it's not just about the money people get direct from advertising revenue, there's also the potentially worldwide exposure that can lead to other possibilities.

"I mean Simon Cowell just signed up a 10-year-old girl from Canada called Heather Russell," says Mr Walker.

"She'd only had 100,000 views but he said: 'I want her on my team now', so he sent someone over to sign her."

As for Tom, he plans to make sure his channel develops into something more that just a way of generating income from adverts.

"I hope to do YouTube full time when I finish uni and really start getting content out there," he says.

"I'm going to start producing a comic book that I've printed myself and I've got shirts on sale.

"It's really invaluable to have a good following on YouTube because you have these big numbers.

"People want to hire you because you've got these skills, or maybe they just want your popularity."


Story

There are people that earn way more money on youtube than this dude.
Shane Dawson has 2.4 million subscribers and over 500,000,000 views on his channel...the greedy lil bugger has about 3 accounts so he makes as much money as possible.
There are loads of other random people with similar amounts of subs and views

I think he earns something like £300,000 a year from his vids.

reply to post by loves a conspiricy


That money whore will get his just desserts. I recall someone telling me that youtube can just cut out their payment at any time they want. I bet when you make that kind of money he
1) Isn't spending it well
2) Isn't going to pursue a proper education

If youtube decides to dump him or people start hating him, he's screwed especially in today's job economy.

reply to post by NuclearMitochondria


I hope so
So many people are trying to get money from youtube. I think this is why we see sooooooooo many hoax videos. Theres people making hoax vids all day long and getting 100s of views.

I think with the partnership thing you get $2.50 for every 1000 views. Doesnt sound a lot but when you have a few 1000 subs its easy to make good money (pocket money for most)

I do hope youtube lets a few of these people go....they wont know how to cope in the real world where earning money requires a lil bit more than posting a few crappy vids each week.

Youtube is mainly filled with kids nowadays...you can tell by the content and the most viewed. These are the people youtubers are aiming their vids at...gullible kids who will rather watch someone doing something than actually going outside and doing it themselves.