Since setting up his YouTube account in July 2010, Jersey-born football YouTuber ‘ChrisMD’ has amassed an eye-watering 6.3 million subscribers.
In 2017, five-time European Cup champion Cristiano Ronaldo “reacted” to a collection of the former St John parishioner’s best-ever goals – with their collaboration generating 22 million views and counting.
Brand partnerships with Nord VPN, Grammarly and Revolut – alongside regular appearances on BBC and Sky Sports – have seen Chris Dixon become one of the UK’s most commercially successful online creators.
But if he were starting out today, would Chris still be able to build this level of success? The answer, unfortunately, appears to be ‘no’.
Monetisation barrier
This is because Jersey-based YouTubers are currently unable to access the only possible tool for monetisation: the YouTube Partner Program.
The program allows creators who have reached 1,000 subscribers – or 4,000 watch hours over 12 months – to receive a 55% share of the ad-revenue generated from their videos.
The remaining 45% goes to YouTube which, via Google AdSense, intersperses both targeted and non-targeted adverts throughout the relevant content.
Speaking to Express, local Mario Kart YouTuber “JustSomeSmartGuy” accused the platform of “effectively ripping off islanders”.
He explained that some YouTuber creators can “earn a living for themselves” off of ad-revenue alone.
“At least,” he caveated, “that’s the case in most countries.
“For some reason, YouTube decides that they don’t want to pay people if they are in Jersey, and the same is also the case for Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
“They still run adverts on islanders’ videos though – it’s just that islanders aren’t able to get a share of the ad-revenue like how YouTubers in the UK and other countries can.”
He added: “To add insult to injury, when it comes to targeted advertising (which YouTube makes more money from), all of a sudden YouTube is interested in Jersey and will show Jersey [adverts].”
For him, it feels like YouTube is trying to have its cake and eat it.
“Now I don’t personally mind the fact that there are ads for local companies on the platform; they are miles better than the AI scam adverts that YouTube is littered with,” he noted.
“Where the issue is, however, is how YouTube is being inconsistent with whether or not they include Jersey – happily including Jersey for targeted advertising, but excluding Jersey when it comes to islanders wanting to monetise their videos.”
Workarounds don’t help creators
Exasperation with the video-sharing platform isn’t new to islanders, who also find themselves blocked from accessing both YouTube Premium and YouTube Music despite being located between two Tier-1 digital economies.
A common workaround for users is to set their location to the UK, where such features are available, by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
But JustSomeSmartGuy explained that while this “simple” solution works for viewers, it doesn’t for creators.
“A VPN won’t help much,” he said. “YouTube also requires a UK bank account and UK address if the location is set to the UK so it will not work with Jersey bank accounts and Jersey addresses.
“And, if the ad-revenue is being sent through the UK, then it can complicate things when it comes to tax.”
TikTok creators facing similar hurdles
Issues around content monetisation and tax do not only affect YouTubers, but TikTok creators too.
Antonia Rubio (@toniee.rubio) uses her TikTok account to educate people about the realities of living life after cancer, having been diagnosed with thyroid cancer herself at the age of 24.
But monetising her content – while not at the absolute top of her priority list – has proven a near-impossibility.
“When I hit 10,000 followers on TikTok, I had the option to join the Creator Fund, which would enable me to get paid for views if my video hit a certain criteria”, explained Antonia.
“However, I realised this would mean I’d have to register as a self-employed creator, which would lead to high tax implications, and it didn’t seem worth it as a small creator, as I wouldn’t be making enough money to justify going through the process.
“I’ve ended up turning down a lot of opportunities from brands, charities and other organisations that have offered me paid work, or to gift me products, as living in Jersey adds further complications with customs fees.”
She added that she is “very lucky” to work with charities that are, though, “really good at making sure they cover travel, food and other costs when I attend events in the UK”.
“I’ve ended up doing lots of work for free, through my own choice, as I know that hopefully one day it’ll pay off, and it has with the amazing opportunities I have been given,” said Antonia.
“But it has also put me off investing my all into my TikTok and socials as much anymore, knowing there may only be a point I can reach without having to relocate.”
In her opinion, monetisation barriers mean Jersey creators “will miss out on opportunities, as brands are more likely to favour working with UK creators so they don’t have to jump through the added hoops”.
Risk of creative talent leaving
This view is echoed by JustSomeSmartGuy, who also noted that “local content creators have to jump through hoops that creators in the UK and other countries don’t have to.”
He stated: “If anyone in Jersey has a YouTube channel that meets the thresholds for monetisation, they have to not monetise their videos, go through some crazy workarounds and potentially still end up not monetised, or leave the island and move to somewhere where there is monetisation.”
“Sadly”, he reflected, “leaving the island is most likely the simplest solution.”
Former islander Elliot Coll set up his now globally-renowned YouTube channel, The Retro Future, in October 2016.
His originality, humour and absorbing knack for restoring battered bits of old tech to their former glory continue to furnish a loyal audience made up of over 625,000 subscribers from all across the world.
But Elliot – who now resides in Brighton – cautioned that Jersey “needs to get up to speed with their digital landscape” if they “want to keep the future creatives from leaving”.
He explained that, despite current issues, he had “no trouble getting paid” in Jersey during his time in the island as a YouTube creator.
“From memory, I sent some bits off to Google in the UK and they sent me back the verification stuff,” he explained.
“I think their system changed and made it impossible to register your AdSense account in Jersey.”
The ceiling on monetisation is one factor among many contributing to a “lack of community” for young Jersey creatives, Elliot added.
“There are some pretty cool hubs in Jersey where creatives can come together and meet each other, that’s fantastic,” he said.
“Maybe Jersey can chat to these places and work in collaboration with them to help on a local scale.”
Elliot continued: “I would hate to see Jersey just be a place for the extremely wealthy and all of the talented young and motivated people to leave because there aren’t suitable facilities and systems.”
Wider digital access issues
Some islanders say the monetisation issue reflects a broader problem with Jersey’s digital access, with one describing the lack of digital equivalency in Jersey as being a “massive thorn in the side of local creators and tech users for years”.
Local tech users argue that exclusion from YouTube monetisation is only one example of what they describe as long-standing gaps in support from major technology companies.
They point out that while local internet providers sell Google Pixel phones, Jersey is often excluded from official support and certain feature rollouts.
From Google Store shipping to Play Store licensing, islanders say Jersey can sometimes feel like a digital “no-man’s-land”.
Critics argue the issue has persisted for more than a decade with little progress, leaving some concerned that Jersey’s digital economy is being held back by a lack of advocacy with large technology companies.
Digital Jersey head of innovation Sebastian Lawson theorised that “the monetisation issue seems to stem from GPay (Google Pay) not working for merchant Jersey companies”.
He said: “This has been on our agenda in our conversation for the last few years, although as you can imagine, they are busy with other products that have been growing in popularity.
“We are also a small market, so the work required doesn’t get prioritised.
“There has been an ongoing conversation between Digital Jersey and Google for many years, and the government has recently started to lend support too.”
Attempts to resolve the problem
Express understands that the Crown Dependencies are working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Home Affairs UK to address key digital access gaps.
A working group that runs approximately every six weeks has led to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology influencing the following changes:
- Google: enabled Jersey developers to verify their Google Play developer accounts using Jersey Certificates of Incorporation. This allows local developers to publish apps to the Play Store, as many apps have been blocked from the Play Store due to this issue.
- Meta: enabled Facebook and Instagram Shops in Jersey, so local retailers can sell their products directly to consumers through Facebook and Instagram Shops.
- Etsy: resolved issues regarding migration to Etsy Payments, which would have prevented Jersey-based businesses from selling on the platform.
Moreover, live issues currently being addressed with the support of the Crown Dependency Group include:
- Meta: enable individuals in Jersey to monetise their content on Facebook and Instagram by ensuring Jersey is a supported country.
- Stripe: to enable launch of their services in Jersey.
- Adyen: to ensure full launch of their services in Jersey (already available in the IoM and Guernsey).
- OpenAI / Anthropic: ensure Jersey (and other Crown Dependencies) is listed as supported countries for API access.
Encouragingly, Express can reveal that the YouTube Partner Program and TikTok have also been brought to the attention of the working group, and will be raised with the UK and the platforms themselves.
A welcome – if belated – glimmer of hope, then, for forward-thinking people across the island hoping one day to transform their hard work from a pastime into a livelihood.