I’ve been getting asked this pretty frequently, so I figured I’d might as well acknowledge the question here; Are YouTube partners being paid additional fees for users leaving comments?

While technically I am bound by the YouTube Partner agreement to not discuss the details, I can give you some clues that may help you to come to a conclusion on your own.

The buzz surrounding this issue was first really created when young hip-hop star Soulja Boy decided to make the following announcement in the form of a vlog:

If you don’t feel like watching the whole thing, basically he goes on to reveal that he is not only paid for every view his videos receive, but he also receives $0.15 for each comment posted. The irony, of course, is that a huge portion of the comments he receives are from critics, who are apparently unknowingly putting more money in his pocket.

Even if this is true in Soula Boy’s case, is it true for all YouTube partners? Well, unfortunately I don’t have a clear answer for you on that. However, you may noticed in the past few months that many of the most recognizable YouTube faces have been starting to encourage comments on their video. For instance, user sxephil (currently #10 most subscribed of all time) now includes a “Question of the Day” near the end of each one of his videos, encouraging his viewers to share their answer in the comment board. And he is definitely not the only one trying to incite comments.

The fact of the matter is, comments are good for business. Especially since YouTubers have a tendency to engage each other in mindless, trivial arguments on the comment board. Each time someone responds to someone else’s comment, the original commenter receives an email that alerts them. This of course draws them back to the video. The more visits to the video, the more advertisement impressions, which of course results in more ad revenue.

Now, you can go ahead and draw your own conclusions!