The folks that make $100k on YouTube
There are 10 independent YouTube stars who made over $100,000 in the past year, according to a study done by analytics and advertising company TubeMogul, quoted by Business Insider.
From July 2009 to July 2010, TubeMogul used their viewership data to estimate the annual income for independent YouTube partners, which they define as anyone who is not part of a media company or brand.
So, without further ado, here are the highest earning YouTube stars!
1. Shane Dawson – $315,000
Shane Dawson https://www.youtube.com/user/shanedawsontv?blend=1&ob=4 is so popular that he has three different YouTube channels.
His most popular channel consists of his comedy skits and music video parodies.
Dawson created a second channel as a vlog and for a separate series called "Ask Shane," and his third channel only has videos taken from his iPhone.
July 2009 - 2010
Views: 431,787,450
2. The Annoying Orange – $288,000
The Annoying Orange https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN5PoW7_kdA is a comedy web series that takes place in a kitchen and is about talking fruit.
Dane Boedigheimer is the mastermind behind the series and is also the voice of Orange.
July 2009 - 2010
Views: 349,753,047
3. Philip DeFranco – $181,000
Philip DeFranco https://www.youtube.com/user/sxephil?blend=1&ob=4 uploads a new video onto YouTube every Monday to Thursday for his show – The Philip DeFranco Show. His video blogging topics range from politics to pop culture.
July 2009 - 2010
Views: 248,735,032
4. Ryan Higa – $151,000
Ryan Higa https://www.youtube.com/user/nigahiga makes comedy skits and is a video blogger who turned into a viral star with his "How to be Gangster" and "How to be Ninja" videos.
Even though he doesn't upload as many videos as his fellow YouTube celebrities, Higa is still the top dog at YouTube with over 2.6 million subscribers.
July 2009 - 2010
Views: 206,979,909
5. Fred – $146,000
Lucas Cruikshank plays "a lonely six year old named Fred" who uses his mom's video camera and posts videos on a YouTube channel.
As the second most subscribed to YouTube channel, Lucas Cruikshank's immensely popular Fred https://www.youtube.com/show/fred?pl=76173E9DE0D941A7 character even has a movie coming out backed by Nickelodeon.
July 2009 - 2010
Views: 200,656,150
6. Shay Carl – $140,000
As a radio DJ, Shay Carl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW8C_IafekQ&feature=fvst started making comedy skits and put them on YouTube for the world to see.
He claims to have held 20 different jobs before settling down with his DJ and YouTube gigs.
July 2009 - 2010
Views: 192,309,247
7. Mediocre Films – $116,000
Greg Benson created Mediocre Films https://www.youtube.com/show/roadents?pl=6F97733F6CE800A6 initially for a sketchy comedy TV series called "Skip TV."
The show lasted for one season, and now Benson makes low budget comedy videos for the web.
July 2009 - 2010
Views: 159,030,703
8. Smosh – $113,000
Smosh https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=smoosh&search_type=shows&rental=0 is the comedy duo of Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla, and with over 1.7 million subscribers, they make up the 5th most popular channel on YouTube.
They first shot to viral fame with their "Pokemon Theme Music Video" which became YouTube's most viewed video in Spring 2006.
However, due to copyright reasons, the original video was removed from YouTube.
July 2009 - 2010
Views: 154,936,876
9. The Young Turks – $112,000
The Young Turks https://www.youtube.com/show?p=gsnCohqU8dY&pl=E59F30E893A1D9E8 is a political talk show that also airs on Sirius Satellite Radio.
Founded and hosted by Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks talk show and their vast viewership has proven that the Internet can be a viable broadcast platform.
July 2009 - 2010
Views: 153,807,362
10. Natalie Tran– $101,000
Under the user name of communitychannel https://www.youtube.com/user/communitychannel?blend=1&ob=4, Natalie Tran is the most subscribed to YouTube user in Australia.
Like most others on this list, she is a video blogger and occasionally uploads comedy skits.
July 2009 - 2010
Views: 138,871,829