DO NOT JOIN THIS NETWORK, EVER!

AuthorFilms Studios

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I joined the Social Blade network (BBTV_SocialBlade) a couple weeks ago and it did Absolutely Nothing to help my channel. Everything they said they'd do to optimise my channel is complete rubbbish. So, still being in the 30 day no lock-in trial, I requested to leave the network. I waited a few days, but it got declined. I tried again, still got declined. Not a single human being has contacted me from SocialBlade since i've joined. I've messaged them on their customer support and am waiting for a response. My 30-day trial is going to end in a week so it looks like I'm getting stuck in their 1-year contract then.

Verdict: DO NOT join SocialBlade's MCN!
 
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RichGuitarGamer

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Can I ask why did you join a network? Did they contact you or did you sign up to them? If its the latter then you should have read the articles myself, and a lot of other youtubers have written on here explaining the pros and cons of joining networks,..Lets put this out there..Gaming Networks do NOT care about "small" youtube channels. I hope you can get out of this contract!
 
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GrgakGames

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Lol why did you join a network with such a small channel?

wat.
 
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CrazyPUA

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I hope you don't get locked in the 1 year contract. I just don't know the point of joining a MCN with a small channel.
 

RichGuitarGamer

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Best advice would be to forget about the network and do videos as you normally would (by improving as much as you can) network with other youtubers, show your personality in your videos, slowly but surely you will grow. Personally it was only 14 months after joining Machinima that staff there now personally email me with tips on what they liked what they didn't like e.t.c and I made the mistake of joining them when I had 5 subs..

you live and you learn *head up :)
 

PinProject

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How can they lock you in for 1-year, did you sign anything that might lead to that?
 

darkstarmedia

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If you joined them a couple of weeks ago, then of course it's unlikely that anything will have happened. Most networks have thousands of creators signed to them, so they have to take their time with things like this.
 
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JesusGreen

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Make sure you message them now declaring that you don't want a full contract and would like to end the trial. If you signed any documents agreeing to the trial you'll probably find that there was a clause in the contract saying that unless you specifically contact them before the trial ends expressing your interest in discontinuing, that you are now bound to them for the year's contract. BBTV = Broadband TV and they're notorious for doing this and roping people into longer and longer contracts.

If it turns out you are stuck with a 1 year contract, then honestly with a channel that's small still your best bet might simply be to close down the channel and start a new one. It might sound rough since a lot of work has been lost but you can still re-upload the videos there, and you can redirect your subs to your new channel too. Rebuilding will be a lot quicker than the initial start was.

Generally if you're wondering whether you should join a network or not the answer is a big NO there are only a few select times when it'll be in your interests to join a network, and even those times it's kind of hit and miss and not really a guaranteed good decision. MCNs aren't there to help you find your subs, they usually just offer the occasional tip or a few tools and that's it - all at a cost of a significant chunk of your revenue. All MCNs are not created equal, and some offer an okay deal if you're particularly set on using one of their tools, but others really offer very little and pretty much get all their membership from messaging new YouTubers who get starstruck by the idea of working with an MCN and think they're somehow special (not realising that the bigger MCNs like BBTV invite thousands of channels with < 100 subs every day in the hope of catching them early before they know any better).

Tl;dr: Message the MCN directly saying you are uninterested in continuing the trial and you would like to cancel. (Don't just cancel in your YouTube settings - you have to also message them about it and explicitly tell them that you are not continuing the trial) If that doesn't work and you've already signed a contract, start a fresh account, yes it'll take a few weeks to get your progress back, but it's better than 1+ years of crap from being a part of an MCN you don't like.
 

xingcat

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I still have yet to figure out what it is that networks offer to small YouTubers. Even the folks who like their networks don't really have much that makes them seem like it's worth the cut they take of your earnings.
 

RichGuitarGamer

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I still have yet to figure out what it is that networks offer to small YouTubers. Even the folks who like their networks don't really have much that makes them seem like it's worth the cut they take of your earnings.
From my experience with my network they do not offer a lot, it seems you have to follow their "strategy" or your videos need to "follow their strict guidelines" i.e. no swearing, no licenced music (basically they want me not to be myself) but then turn around and say "we think you have the potential to be big" but then not do anything about it...honestly unless someone has a channel reaching Hundreds of views per day, joining a network doesn't make sense