According to Ars Technica, the payment rates are $0.15 an hour for U.S. viewers and $0.06 an hour in other countries. Creators get 55% of revenue for ad-supported content and 50% of net rental and paid purchases. For further incentive, Amazon is also distributing $1 million per month across the 100 most-popular programs viewed by Prime members.
The move does target YouTube, but only the tier of its members who are using video as a core business. For instance, the account used for uploading to Video Direct must have a company name, and Amazon needs bank and tax information to distribute revenue. The roster of launch partners demonstrates the caliber of user Amazon is targeting: Conde Nast Entertainment, Machinima, The Guardian, and Mashable to name a few. Still, given the growing number of voices from the music industry forming a united front to lobby for changes to YouTube’s business model, a rival that offers more control and potentially more revenue could lead to a serious shake-up in the video space.