Did a interview for the Nashville Scene. I somehow got turned me into the Rebel of Nashville Youtubers hahaha. I just need a base on Hoth and I’m set. This is actually my first ever interview that has been in a physical publication. (Un-pops a single party popper)
"Of course, not every YouTuber is in love with multichannel networks or living in Los Angeles. The Ian MacKaye of Nashville YouTubers, Olan Rogers moved here from Memphis almost three years ago. Now 26, he has more than a half-million subscribers and says he’s turned down partnership offers from virtually every multichannel network on YouTube.
"I don’t want to freaking put commercials on my videos," Rogers says. "I HATE commercials! I. Hate. Commercials. It doesn’t make any sense to me that you would put your audience through a commercial in order to get paid.
"I kind of made a stand early on and said I’m not going to partner with anybody, I’m going to stay independent. I know a lot of people do it, and a lot of people are making money off of that, but I’d rather find other ways to do that than put all my stock in putting commercials in front of the video."
To make up for that easy money, three years ago Rogers launched a clothing company, Olan Rogers Apparel. Part of the proceeds goes to charity; the rest funds his videos. He also currently has a deal in the works to create a Web series for NBCUniversal-owned digital movie ticket retailer Fandango.
"I’m sure they’ll [use] sponsors and put commercials in front of their stuff, and I’m fine with that, because that’s their channel, that’s their business," he says. "With my stuff, I put so much heart into that I just want to leave it the way it is. … I don’t make videos to make money, I make videos to make videos."
Nevertheless, he admits that refusing to sell out isn’t always easy. “It’s so tempting,” he says, “but it’s gotten to a point where if anybody sends me an email and they start off, ‘We can increase your CPMs,’ I just ignore it.” As an aspiring filmmaker, Rogers sees his stance as a long-term investment of sorts.
"I don’t want to be known as a YouTuber, I want to be known as a filmmaker," he says. "The moment you start partnering up and you start doing stuff with other YouTubers, you kind of get branded that way, and nobody [in the film world] takes YouTube seriously.
"Literally, I’ve tried to do things [within the industry] where people have just laughed at the idea when I say I’ve done some YouTube videos. They just laugh, point blank, in my face."
Full Article here: