Zach Cornfeld and Keith Herbersberger of The Try Guys
JD Lunes
Try GuysOne of YouTube’s most established groups of creators has successfully ditched its reliance on Google’s algorithms and advertiser revenue by launching an independent streaming service called 2nd Try — and the results are already starting to show.
Brand partnerships, sponsored content and advertising have long been major sources of income for creators, but some are turning to subscription services in search of a more stable income from the unpredictable world of algorithm-driven platforms.
“An advertising-dependent business is incredibly volatile and unpredictable,” Try Guys co-founder Zach Cornfeld said in an interview with CNBC. “There’s just so much that’s out of your control, and we’ve definitely experienced the worst of it. It’s volatile at best, corrosive and explosive at worst. And it forces you creatively to optimize for things that aren’t always in the best interest of your audience.”
The ban on TikTok has left almost all users Annual revenue of $15 billion For small businesses, YouTube’s ad revenue growth has slowed, and creators are seeking more stable revenue streams in an increasingly volatile advertising market.
Currently, The Try Guys has over 8 million subscribers and over 2.7 billion views on YouTube. They announced The streaming service will be launched in May. Second tryMost of the new videos on 2nd Try are paid, with subscribers getting access to exclusive ad-free content for about $5 a month. Three months after launching 2nd Try, the company says it is on track to monetize.
Other creators are trying to replicate Netflix’s subscription model. Watcher Entertainment and Dropout Two other popular YouTube channels have launched subscription-based streaming services to avoid the vagaries of social media algorithms.
Social media platforms rely on algorithms to determine what content users see, based on their past interactions and preferences. The algorithms analyze user behavior to create a personalized content feed, often prioritizing posts that are more likely to generate engagement, such as likes and shares. As a result, many creators feel pressured to create content that aligns with the algorithm, even if it means lowering the quality of their work, just to stand out.
“We’re really happy with the progress we’ve made so far, probably more than we thought we’d make at this point,” co-founder Keith Haversberger said. “We’ve got a long way to go. Our goal isn’t to hit these numbers. Our goal is to keep growing, and keep learning, and be open to making mistakes.”
Subscription platforms like Patreon allow creators to bypass algorithms entirely and connect directly with their most loyal fans who are willing to pay for exclusive content.
“For creators, this is not a reliable source of income, so I think over the years creators have learned that and are looking for something more stable,” Patreon founder and CEO Jack Conte said in an interview with CNBC.
The Try Guys found early success at BuzzFeed before launching an independent creative venture in 2018. A career-defining internet scandal In 2022, it was discovered that one of the company’s co-founders and key figures was having an affair with another employee, damaging the brand’s relationship and causing the company to lose a lot of money on the production of new YouTube videos.
“We essentially ran a deficit for two years. The cost of producing the programming that viewers wanted was exceeding the revenue we were making from YouTube,” Cornfeld said.
Revenue from 2nd Try represents about 20% of the company’s total sales. The Try Guys will continue to post content to YouTube; the platform’s advertising fees remain a key part of their business model. But Kornfeld and Habersberger stress that their main focus is growing 2nd Try into their largest source of revenue alongside merchandise sales. Live Tour.
