Taren's catching heat on YT

[BadMamaJama]

It's a very interesting argument and it's very valid. If certain vloggers review a $200 wig they got for free and the company sells at least 10 $200 wigs off of her video, why shouldn't she get a piece of the pie? I wouldn't buy it based on her word, but she's making money. There are some vloggers who blew up from when I first started watching 2 years ago and they don't buy ish and every video they make has a company's infot in the description. I don't trust their word anymore. Sorry. Youtube is also a very new advertising platform and companies are making lots of money without spending a lot so that's bound to change.

And sorry, boo, I'm not watching you rant for 30 minutes. You're not that important!

 

[Ogoma]

I agree with her, if a company expects free advertisement through a review, they should compensate the reviewer. I probably would not trust the review, especially if the reviewer is gushing, but that is a separate issue. I don't trust commercials, but I still buy the product if it catches my attention.

I was Iistening to this in the background so not paying cloae attention, and was thoroughly confused when she started talking about seeing on TV soon. Does she have a show coming up?

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Would anyone even care had she not made a video? Even white girls are vlogging making fun of what Taren said. Honestly, I feel a lot of people are bitter and jealous that she has "beautiful hair." Whatever it is about her as a YT vlogger or whatever, she continues to be relevant and successful. No one will forget who she is or what she says.

 

[Ogoma]

Personally I think there is way too much emphasis on positive vs. negative reviews. The only thing that matters is an HONEST review. For me, when I see someone bashing a company in an effort to "keep it real" or appear to be more authentic, it seems tacky and unprofessional. You can be thorough and give the positives/negatives without being mean.

Agreed. I like watching Denimpixie and a few others- makeupbeautyjunkie and curlykimmystar (my frizzy hair twin) come to mind- for product reviews. Whether they like it or not, their reviews are very informative.

 

[ScorpioRising]

I was on her blogtv last night , here's a summary of some points

She stated that YT is her occupation, and she stated that her rant was a way to explain her thoughts to her viewers which stemmed from all the dislikes on her beautymint sponsored video.

She also said the issue with getting products for free is that yes its nice to receive expensive free products but with the amount of viewers she has, a free lacefront does not compare to the profits her reviews can bring to companies.

She went on to say that what she discussed is no different than a celebrity endorsing a product and getting paid for it.


About the smaller companies, she said she didn't mean any offense to mom and pop businesses just that they may not be able to handle the influx of purchases from her reviews since she has so many subs. She doesn't want their possible lack of efficiency to be a reflection on her.


She said she is a business and is registered as one (llc, etc), at this time shes creating a new website tarenguy.com

 

[tiffjust2002]

Just curious, does anyone know how much youtubers get compensated for reviews (obviously this would fluctuate depending on the number or subscribers and the guidelines for the review)? I do not have a problem with youtubers getting compensated for their time and effort, but I don't like that less and less folks are outright stating how they get their products. I know one person in particular who just puts the "sponsored by" at the bottom of the description box and that irks me for some reason and makes the review seem more like an advertisement. Maybe I'm overthinking it...

Well as a blogger I know that we have to state in writing in a disclaimer when are paid to write a post or do a review on something we received for free, so I would assumed being a vlogger you would have to do the say thing either say it in your video or add a disclaimer to the description box. It is a rule by FTC (Federal Trade Commission)

 

[Ogoma]

^^^ I agree with some of her larger points. At the end of the day, her success depends on the most number of pple liking her. She walks a fine line complaining and ranting, even if what she says is the truth.

Since she is comparing herself to successful celebrities, she should act like them. Be cutthroat behind the scenes and humble as pie when facing the public.

 

[Dposh167]

I think ellepixie's response to her was a good one and I feel the same as Elle.
She agreed with taren to a degree but disagreed with her. I like Ellepixie so much better. I have bought so many items cuz of Elle's reviews. And she is very detailed and genuine. Plus she gives smaller companies a chance.

 

[*Frisky*]

I think ellepixie's response to her was a good one and I feel the same as Elle.
She agreed with taren to a degree but disagreed with her. I like Ellepixie so much better. I have bought so many items cuz of Elle's reviews. And she is very detailed and genuine. Plus she gives smaller companies a chance.

I liked DenimPixie's response but JCokes said it better

 

[tiffjust2002]

I watched that Loooonnnggg a$$ video, I love how one commenter said she was just trying to see if she can hold an audience for over 30 min since she said she is going to have her own show LOL That cracked me up. I can see somewhat see her point but, I'm a blogger and I feel like if I received free product to do a review, that is my payment if the free product is not worth my time in writing up a post and taking pics and promoting it on SM (social media) then I don't accept it plain and simple.

The problem that all started this whole mess IMO is that beauty mint facial care vid she posted first clearly she wasn't a fan of some of the products and didn't understand their logic of how they said to apply the products and she even stated in the comments that her facial care routine was so simple it wasn't even worth a video but then you post a review video on facial care products that were sent to you for free? Um lame you should have NOT accepted the products in the first place or either kept your mouth shut about how simple your routine is it doesn't require a video.

 

[auparavant]

So Taren posted this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBIy0CSi9Ek&feature=g-all-lik
It's 32mins long so I'll summerise.

• She's upset that companies send her products to review and not want to pay her for that review.
• She feels like celebrities get paid for their endorsements and as a vlogger she should too.
• -Also she feels like YT should compensate her for reviewing products and not just plan an ad on her channel when she doesn't want to

Some of the posters are going off on her saying she's spoiled and should get a real job if she doesn't like how YT works

Hell, she's right and I've said this many times. People should wake up and smell the coffee because they are lining the pockets of the companies, providing them with FREE advertisement and they don't benefit at all. It's just another corporate way of climbing upon the backs of minorities and young white women...who are the major ones providing these free services. THey pay you a pittance of poor product and get major airtime with every click. Just say "NO!"

 

[ScorpioRising]

I watched that Loooonnnggg a$$ video, I love how one commenter said she was just trying to see if she can hold an audience for over 30 min since she said she is going to have her own show LOL That cracked me up. I can see somewhat see her point but, I'm a blogger and I feel like if I received free product to do a review, that is my payment if the free product is not worth my time in writing up a post and taking pics and promoting it on SM (social media) then I don't accept it plain and simple.

The problem that all started this whole mess IMO is that beauty mint facial care vid she posted first clearly she wasn't a fan of some of the products and didn't understand their logic of how they said to apply the products and she even stated in the comments that her facial care routine was so simple it wasn't even worth a video but then you post a review video on facial care products that were sent to you for free? Um lame you should have NOT accepted the products in the first place or either kept your mouth shut about how simple your routine is it doesn't require a video.

Yep, that's what she stated in her blogtv, and I agree with you. It was supposed to be a platform for interesting discussion on that video rant as she herself stated, but her blogtv turned into a fangirl chat.

 

[kim]

Does anyone know the details of her TV show?

 

[auparavant]

Why are you screaming as though the other poster is an idiot of some sort? Both points are well-taken and actually say practically the same thing.

 

[tiffjust2002]

I think ellepixie's response to her was a good one and I feel the same as Elle.
She agreed with taren to a degree but disagreed with her. I like Ellepixie so much better. I have bought so many items cuz of Elle's reviews. And she is very detailed and genuine. Plus she gives smaller companies a chance.

I love Elle too, her reviews are always so on point and just seem real I don't know exactly what the difference is between her reviews and Taren's that I like better

 

[KimPossibli]

I think it waas unprofessional of Taren to do this.. especially if you consider youtube her business.

after the first 5 minutes all I heard was *whine whine whine... I want;......whine whine*

despite what her actual words are, she is projecting an appearance of entitlement, not a good look for any business..

 

[MissMasala5]

Reviews and advertisements are not the same.

Whether I purchased the product myself or if it was given to me for review purposes, my thoughts on it would be my unbiased thoughts, and I would definitely state whether or not the product was sent to me gratis for review. I would not refrain from stating any negatives, or refrain from reviewing a product I didn't like. To me, that's being biased, and then as such, does seem like advertising more than a review when only doing favorable reviews.

 

[mech]

she sounds greedy, delusional, and arrogant.

 

[EbonyCPrincess]

It's so annoying when people respond without watching the WHOLE video. If you actually watched the video you would know that she stated that she doesn't plan to go down the route of hair, product making, or anything else to do with the hair world. Thanks to the youtube platform she's built, she has been able to start a non-profit organization charity for Autism (her two adorable boys have autism) that she's always wanted to. And she has tv-shows/media stuff planned too, which she has bee working on for a while.

The main objective of Taren's video is to tell Vloggers to know their worth and that advertisers prey on them because they know they'll get a bargain. So what if vloggin is free? We've all witnessed the power of reviews and how a product can finish due to sky-rocketing sales from the review that vlogger made. Therefore it makes perfect sense that a vlogger would like commission from the sales they've helped to generate. What's wrong with that?

IMO, people are just bitter/and jealous. You guys need to respect people's hustle. Although you mentioned that you're not throwing shade becauseyou post videos yourself, but are you as popular as Taren? I'm guessing no. Whether you admit it or not honey.. you're subconsciously a hater!

Lmao! I never said she should start selling hair products! Nor am I jealous. I am absolutely NOT as popular as Taren, never will be. I am not subscribed to her but refer my natural friends who just started their hair journey to her all the time and follow her on Twitter and Instagram. I support all kinds of hair vloggers and bloggers ALL THE TIME. So...as far as being a hater goes...that was a really asinine assumption. I'm not a stan for any youtuber/blogger but hater? Definitely not.

And if a FREE service as enabled her to do all of those wonderful things, why is she complaining about not getting paid to do reviews? The simple answer is...don't do them. Your platform has still opened the doors to do what you "really" wanted to do, correct? Can't you just be grateful for that?

 

[cutiebe2]

I agree with Taren.

One thing that stuck out to me was really true. People jump down the throats of ordinary folks, but we never question Drake on his Sprite deal, or MJ for making million of of poor black kids by putting his name on a sneaker.

Why is it that its okay for someone to advertise for PURE profit but when average women want to make some money it becomes "sit down and shut up because you should be grateful for what you do get". Thats no fair and I wont put down anyone who is trying to be fairly compensated for what they do.

If a company sends her 20 dollars worth of product but then makes 20,000 worth of sales (her videos will be up for years, helping sales for years to come), that's not fair compensation.

And she also mentioned that the best fair compensation is commission when people click your link to buy the product.

I don't understand why we WANT each other to value ourselves so little, especially as women of color we should be pushing for our FAIR CUT of a business especially if they are benefiting from our value!

 

[kandake]

It must be nice to make YT videos for a living. Some of these women are really fortunate to have created a "business" out of talking about their hair on the internet.

Anywho, I'm on the fence about her rant. I do agree that vloggers should be compensated for their reviews. Especially when that person has a substantial amount of followers. I'm not a Taren fan but I can use others as an example. I wonder how much Kinky Curly made from Kim's constant mention of Knot Today as part of her moisturizing mix. I wonder how many people bought pH test strips, etc. I wonder how many people went out to purchase a wig because Muffin's did a review. Or how many people bought the Maybelline BB cream because Pumpkinpie did a review. These companies make thousands of dollars because some girl on the internet mentioned their products. We go around offering free advertising all the time. I always kid about such and such company needs to pay me for my constant recommendations. YouTube has offered a platform for this type of compensation and I don't see a problem with it from a business prospective. If I had the opportunity to do so I would take full advantage.

On the other hand. I do not like the current state of the beauty vlog world. It's gone from a regular everyday girl talking about her hair and the products she uses to this huge business where everybody is doing reviews on things they wouldn't use if they weren't approached by the company or if they didn't seek them out on mylikes or something like that. Big business has taken over the innocence of what originally drew people to YT for advice, suggestions and recommendations for... whatever.

I understand why Taren's subbies are a little perturbed. It annoys me too and I try my best to avoid vlogs that clearly look like reviews based on free product and/or money. It seems so disingenuous.

So, once again, I'm torn on the issue. But I can understand the varying sides.

 

[EbonyCPrincess]

I was on her blogtv last night , here's a summary of some points

She stated that YT is her occupation, and she stated that her rant was a way to explain her thoughts to her viewers which stemmed from all the dislikes on her beautymint sponsored video.

She also said the issue with getting products for free is that yes its nice to receive expensive free products but with the amount of viewers she has, a free lacefront does not compare to the profits her reviews can bring to companies.

She went on to say that what she discussed is no different than a celebrity endorsing a product and getting paid for it.


About the smaller companies, she said she didn't mean any offense to mom and pop businesses just that they may not be able to handle the influx of purchases from her reviews since she has so many subs. She doesn't want their possible lack of efficiency to be a reflection on her.


She said she is a business and is registered as one (llc, etc), at this time shes creating a new website tarenguy.com

This makes complete sense. And I agree with her. BUT, why didn't you do all the business stuff (ie website set up) and then go after the "paid" sponsorships? I don't know doing this rant when you sort of lucked up into figuring out that you could turn YouTube'ing into an "occupation" just seems tacky. And unnecessary to say it publicly.

DanceOnTheSkylines - I CAN TURN ON MY CAPS LOCK ALSO. I guess you feel that makes your points more effective? Hmmm, not really sure why you got so emotional over a stranger and a discussion over points made in a YT video. If you don't agree with my statments, fine, we can agree to disagree...no need to get all charged up.

 

[DarkJoy]

I got the notification that she uploaded this but haven't seen it. So my comments are general and not specific to the content:

I think she just shot her business in the foot. I love taren and watch her all the time and hope that this bad decision in posting this vid doesn't compromise her future as a successful vlogger.

However, companies don't like when people complain about compensation (or lack thereof). The decisionmakers may feel slighted and that, with her number of viewers, she has potential to hurt future sales in some way irrespective of whether or not she mentioned company/product names in her rant vlog. If some are paying her they may also feel slighted. They may feel she is now untrustworthy.

They simply don't care. She is one vlogger of hundreds. Others will rise to take her place who will not complain.

Taren will probably see her flow of free products dwindle. As a result, so will her vlogs and any monetary compensantion she had been receiving. Advertisers to her other ventures will slowly begin to pull their ads.

I give her a year before she drops out to obscurity. Its horrible, but that's business.

 

[ScorpioRising]

BUT, why didn't you do all the business stuff (ie website set up) and then go after the "paid" sponsorships? I don't know doing this rant when you sort of lucked up into figuring out that you could turn YouTube'ing into an "occupation" just seems tacky. And unnecessary to say it publicly.

Exactly! It's interesting you mentioned her youtube channel turning into an occupation since she has stated many times she started doing youtube videos as a hobby to capture herself learning how to maintain her hair, not as a business venture.

 

[MissMasala5]

If folks feel that reviewing should come with compensation, you are no longer reviewing, you are advertising. And if you are advertising, you are being paid to only say good things, period.

If people really feel reviewers should be paid to talk about products that others will run out and buy, then a whole bunch of people on this hair board need to get paid because here alone I have spent--- Well, let me say I have spent A LOT on products since joining.

 

[Your Cheeziness]

Taren can't win for losing 'round these parts.

 

[cutiebe2]

If folks feel that reviewing should come with compensation, you are no longer reviewing, you are advertising. And if you are advertising, you are being paid to only say good things, period.

If people really feel reviewers should be paid to talk about products that others will run out and buy, then a whole bunch of people on this hair board need to get paid because here alone I have spent--- Well, let me say I have spent A LOT on products since joining.

Trust that companies know this. Look how many small companies got their start on here. Hairveda, Kinky Curly, Afroveda, the list goes on

look at large companies who realized we has power. MTG was big back in the day and that same company went and made "Sula" a product that did not smell as bad I'm sure Pantene ProV, Motions, Herbal Essences, etc all have their people snooping on here trying to use this board to increase sales (research)

Companies recognize free advertising all the time. Its up to you the person who is supplying them with that free advertising, to see where you can get your fair share.

Companies used to be able to just come on here and talk about their product. Now the board has rules and they need special accounts (with higher fees) and we can't post our business sites in our signatures because its not fair to be able to 6.50 and get thousands of dollars in profit.

the hair board is a good example of how this works

 

[Raspberry]

If folks feel that reviewing should come with compensation, you are no longer reviewing, you are advertising. And if you are advertising, you are being paid to only say good things, period.

If people really feel reviewers should be paid to talk about products that others will run out and buy, then a whole bunch of people on this hair board need to get paid because here alone I have spent--- Well, let me say I have spent A LOT on products since joining.

I agree with this. Why should a company pay someone to talk badly about their product? That's why you can't compare a beauty vlogger to athlete endorsements because those being paid by Nike will stay sporting Nike clothing/shoes in public and have good things to say about the products.

Paid YT product infomercials could work with popular vloggers if the video quality is excellent and there are awesome before and after shots with the routine being shown and explained well.

 

[kandake]

If folks feel that reviewing should come with compensation, you are no longer reviewing, you are advertising. And if you are advertising, you are being paid to only say good things, period.

If people really feel reviewers should be paid to talk about products that others will run out and buy, then a whole bunch of people on this hair board need to get paid because here alone I have spent--- Well, let me say I have spent A LOT on products since joining.

I think if LHCF had the same kind of platform as YT, many members would jump at the chance to make money for mentioning XYZ product. Some of these popular long hair ladies could make a killin'.

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if it already happens on the low. Maybe it's not money but I can see the free products.

 

[Your Cheeziness]

So, no one is going to address the fact that Taren is encouraging people to be business savvy by building your brand and not establish another repetitive type of channel? She's just going to be made out to be a selfish, arrogant, and ignorant YouTuber? Okay.

Taren is giving some good info here because there are A LOT of people who hop on YouTube for the sole purpose of getting free stuff. They come on with crappy videos and random foolishness and don't really know how to get started.

From the part I actually watched, she is saying to build your brand and know your worth and don't be taken advantage out there because there is business to be made.

For example, since being natural blew up these past few years, people have been buying these overpriced products (myself included) in DROVES, largely based off of other people's FREE reviews. 75% of this stuff can be made at home at a fraction of the cost, yet all of these natural-friendly stores are being praised, but the vlog/bloggers who send the customers there are crucified for wanting compensation? I don't get it.

I say hey, if you're thirsty, sip her tea. If not, click the red X.