Is Stolen Content Ever a Good Thing?

It seems obvious that someone stealing your content is a bad thing. After all, they’re getting the views, the revenue, and the subscriptions. Most of the time that’s true. But after Kevin had his Vsauce2 YouTube content ripped and re-uploaded on TikTok, it got more complex.

Vsauce3 Jake and several of the Baby Gang alerted Kevin to the theft, and… then there was a surge in YouTube views. The other guy got 17 million views from stolen content, but Kevin’s seeing it as a glass half-full scenario.

Why? In a weird way, it was a proof of concept that his YouTube videos could be broken down into multiple parts and uploaded to TikTok. He didn’t have to take the time or money to try it, especially after a few social media campaigns with lackluster results. Thanks, thief!

It’s an age-old debate, whether there’s any validity to “exposure” in creative life. There’s a lot more to it than even we gave it credit for.

A brand new patron asks Kevin why God is dead before a brief discussion of TikTok monetization and what it’s like to make art different from what you’re known for.

Thanks to everyone who showed up for the live recording, and a special thanks to the Patrons who make this show possible each and every week!

Patreon: https://patreon.com/thecreateunknown Join our Discord to talk with artists, creators, and fans of the finer things in online life: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw

Apple: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownApple Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownGooglePodcasts CREDITS: Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor Produced and Edited by Ben Webster → https://twitter.com/benwebsterTCU "Created in the Unknown" theme by Basswaite: https://linktr.ee/Basswaite Theme by Mega Drive → http://megadrivemusic.com Opening Animation: Kidmograph City Animation: Eric Langlay "The Create Unknown" is produced by Unknown Media. CONNECT WITH US: » Chat with us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw » Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/createunknown » Follow us on INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/thecreateunknown » Follow us on FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/thecreateunknown » View our website: https://thecreateunknown.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices