YouTube networks sure do make it easy to sign up to them - but, boy, do they make it hard to get out! Their job is to make sure that you stay signed to them, so they don't necessarily advertise how to leave them. Well, that's what I'm going to show you today, and I'm going to give you the tools on exactly how to do it - and also what happens after you've left.
If you're part of a YouTube network, and you feel like you want to get out because it isn't all how they said it'd be - take the steps to get out! You are paying them for this service, so if you're unhappy, you're wasting money. Don't be afraid to take control of your channel, because after all, it is yours... not theirs.
So, what do you need to do to get out?
First thing you might think of is "Hey, I'll just email them and ask to leave". DON'T DO THAT! The reason why I'm telling you not to do it, is right in the second sentence of this post. Their job is to make sure you stay signed to them. If you reach out to them straight off the bat, without being prepared to back yourself, then it's possible that they will wind you into a string of lies to keep you signed - and believe me, it happens. A lot.
First thing that you want to do is have a look at your contract, and check your terms. Contracts can be a little tricky to read, so I've outlined exactly what you want to look for in the following picture. You want to look for your initial term, renewal term and rollover period. These won't necessarily be placed next to eachother - in fact, mine were on separate pages, as you can see in the picture. This is a screenshot of my contract with my previous network (and I've blurred out the irrelevant details, incase they want to hunt me down for this).
- Your initial term is the period of time you must serve when you first signed the contract. So, for example, if you signed in January 2016 and the initial term was 12 months, then the initial term expires on January 2017.
- Your renewal term is the period of time that you will serve if you decide to renew your contract. This comes after the initial term has finished. It's pretty self explanatory - but the decision to "renew" isn't always obvious, which brings us to our next term.
- The rollover period. Now, this is the one that normally clinches people. A rollover period is simply a period of time that you must give the network notice that you want to leave. It's like giving notice when you leave your job. If you don't let them know within this period of time, then the contract is renewed automatically. You won't necessarily re-sign along a dotted line, but for all intents and purposes, you would have renewed your contract without even knowing. On my contract, for example, this was outlined in the fine print amidst a bank of words, so it was hard to spot. My rollover period was 90 days, so if my contract was due for renewal in January, then I had to contact my network by the end of September (90 days). Makes sense?
Once you've checked these terms, and you are within these terms to leave (served your current term, and within the rollover period) then you can reach out to them. When you are getting in contact with them, be professional and specific. A simple "Hey guys, I'm not happy so I wanna leave" isn't going to cut it, and it leaves a lot of room for error on your side. You want to be clear and specific with the terms on the contract, the dates, and the reason why you're leaving. It could look something like this:
Dear John Smith,
I am contacting you today to inform you that I would like to leave (NETWORK NAME), effective as of December 31st, 2016.
As per my contract that we agreed upon, I will serve my initial term of 12 months from January 1st 2016, to December 31st 2016. As I am contacting you today within the rollover period of 90 days, there will not be a renewal of my contract for 2017.
The reason I have decided to leave is because I am unhappy with the lack of contact and help from your network. I believe I am able to manage my channel on my own, and so I no longer require the services of (NETWORK NAME).
Kind regards,
Jenny Smith
That's all it takes. It may feel a little cold and harsh, but it needs to be. You need to be clear and concise with every detail. And you best believe that they will reply, begging to keep you on board. It took me several weeks and countless emails back-and-forth before I got in their head that I wasn't going to stay. No matter what. So, be prepared to go into a bit of a battle - but be strong. You're doing this for a reason.
Now - what happens? Well, best case scenario is that they agree and they let you go. But what if they don't? What if they don't even respond to your email, or they ignore you completely? Believe me, it happens! Luckily, there's an option through YouTube called a 'request to unlink'. It's pretty self-explanatory - it's a request, through YouTube, to unlink your channel from your network. Now this shouldn't be your first point of attack - always contact your network first, as they can reject this request. Yep, your network can reply and just say no. But the beauty of this little button is that it has it's own little 'term', just like your contract. Your network has 30 days to respond to this request, either saying yes or no. If they don't, then YouTube will automatically unlink you. This is actually what happened to me - I did the whole contacting my network, and yada, yada, yada - and then nothing. Nothing seemed to be happening - so I clicked the request to unlink, and my network never responded. That's how I got out. So it's a good little tool to have in your belt.
But wait - what if you've contacted your network and then say no? And what if you've clicked the request to unlink, and they've said no? Now what? Well, this is where it gets a little messy. This is where you'll need to seek legal advice, which sounds pretty scary and pricey right? Well, it can be. There are plenty of options for legal aid, and I'd recommend that you exhaust all of those before forking out for a solicitor or lawyer. From here, it's all case-by-case as to how things turn out. Ray William Johnson's case against Maker Studios is quite popular in the YouTube world for this very reason.
As you can see, Ray went public with his issues with his network. If you have a large following, you may be tempted to do this, so that they've been 'exposed' or a similar effect. I've always been a believer of 'don't hang out your dirty laundry', but if you're wanting to go this path to get a response, just be careful - don't mention individual people, only mention the company as a whole, as this could be grounds for defamation.
Now - what happens? Well, best case scenario is that they agree and they let you go. But what if they don't? What if they don't even respond to your email, or they ignore you completely? Believe me, it happens! Luckily, there's an option through YouTube called a 'request to unlink'. It's pretty self-explanatory - it's a request, through YouTube, to unlink your channel from your network. Now this shouldn't be your first point of attack - always contact your network first, as they can reject this request. Yep, your network can reply and just say no. But the beauty of this little button is that it has it's own little 'term', just like your contract. Your network has 30 days to respond to this request, either saying yes or no. If they don't, then YouTube will automatically unlink you. This is actually what happened to me - I did the whole contacting my network, and yada, yada, yada - and then nothing. Nothing seemed to be happening - so I clicked the request to unlink, and my network never responded. That's how I got out. So it's a good little tool to have in your belt.
But wait - what if you've contacted your network and then say no? And what if you've clicked the request to unlink, and they've said no? Now what? Well, this is where it gets a little messy. This is where you'll need to seek legal advice, which sounds pretty scary and pricey right? Well, it can be. There are plenty of options for legal aid, and I'd recommend that you exhaust all of those before forking out for a solicitor or lawyer. From here, it's all case-by-case as to how things turn out. Ray William Johnson's case against Maker Studios is quite popular in the YouTube world for this very reason.
Okay - so now you've left your network. Now what?
Well, it's actually a lot more simple that it seems. Once your network has ceased your contract, they may not necessarily tell you. This is why you need to be specific with dates, so that they know, and that you know. When it came to the date of the end of my contract, I didn't hear a peep from my network. I logged onto my YouTube channel, just like any normal day, and I saw that all of my videos were no longer monetised. So what this means, is that my network dropped me and my channel without notifying me - and they are well within their rights to do this, but now my videos weren't earning any money. All that you need to do is go into your video manager, select all of your videos, and click into actions > monetise. That's it. Then, your AdSense account has kicked in again. Your earnings with AdSense will then take into account from that date, and you are free from your network.
Woohoo!
So that's everything. It is a lot to take in, and it can be intimidating for those who are at the starting point. Just know this: you can do it. Take control. No one else can do this for you, so find a set of balls, and get stuck into it.
I've also done a video on this, so if you're someone who prefers watching things, or if you're still a little hazy, check it out.
