Posted on by Frank - Follow me on Twitter

At the end of every YouTube video, you see the following options:

Favorite

Share

Playlists

Flag

Download ($0.99)   <———-What the hell is this?

I’m sure though you have probably never seen this at the end of a video before. Alright, maybe you have. However, why is this here? I only have seen this implemented onto one YouTube channel that I am currently subscribed to, but I am not going to mention who it is because then I would be singling them out. So, what was my first reaction to this? Well it was something like -why is this here and why would you add this into your YouTube channel? Honestly, I am wondering how you can add this in because those functions at the end of a video are under YouTube’s control.

We all know that YouTube is probably the most popular website for watching video content and you can most definitely classify it as a social media platform. Although, did you consider that possibly YouTube could be trying to create their own version of an iTunes Store with $0.99 downloads?  I can’t prove that this is possible or not because like I said, I have only seen one YouTube channel with this incorporated into their videos.  Secondly, who would pay $0.99 to download a YouTube video?  I just don’t see a market for it or people willing to pay to have it.  The iTunes Store already has these capabilities.  I feel YouTube doesn’t have a chance at competing with iTunes in this scenario because iTunes has too large of a grasp on that market.

What would be an even bigger shock is if this wasn’t YouTube’s doing and it was done by the individual who has the YouTube channel. I for one can say I felt annoyed just to see that sitting there.  I wonder if others would feel perturbed by it as well if they saw it.  I will mention that this user is no “newbie” when it comes to being on the internet, but this person may be the only one who is doing this on YouTube.

YouTube and iTunes are in related markets considering they both have music and video on their platforms, but when it comes to making money…YouTube’s primary income is from advertising while iTunes is from downloads.  So how could YouTube possibly take that market away from iTunes?  It just doesn’t seem possible.  I hope YouTube sees this post or for that matter the person who incorporated the download function into their videos.  I’d like to hear their takes on this and why this is being done.  I think YouTube is fine the way it is and I know many users would agree.  It’s not a good idea to change something that works!

Hopefully anyone who reads this post may be able to clarify some of theses issues for me. Have you ever seen a channel with “download $0.99″ underneath a video? Either way, what do you think of this being done?  Would YouTube be making a mistake trying to compete with iTunes?

Further reading:

Video Content Improves Interaction With Social Media And Tech Enthusiasts

Do You Want To Download YouTube Videos?

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