Amazon’s Answer To YouTube Could Earn You $$$

Amazon is making big moves with its video platform. Last month, it launched a new, standalone streaming service for those that aren't Prime members. Now today, it announced a new video portal: Amazon Video Direct, where you can upload a video just like you might on YouTube. The main thing that sets Video Direct apart from the competition is that it's easy to monetize. When you create a free account and share your first video, you can make it available for free, or you can earn royalties on views. This is determined by the number of hours streamed — but you have to limit your video's access to Prime subscribers, renters, or other payment-based options. The release of Amazon Video Direct comes less than a week after YouTube's major programming event, Brandcast, where CEO Susan Wojcicki asserted the site's dominance. According to Wojcicki, YouTube is viewed by more 18- to 49-year-olds than any other network, broadcast, or cable. "YouTube gives these creators the freedom to express themselves openly, honestly, authentically," Wojcicki said. "It allows a new, diverse set of faces and voices to rise up. They speak their minds, they give their perspectives. And these are perspectives that you just can’t find on TV." You may not find those perspectives on TV, but Amazon is hoping you'll start finding them soon on Video Direct.