Someone in the comments pointed out that Youtube's new structure is designed so that only famous people can make money. I have no idea whether this is true, but it would fit it with the constant drumbeat of threats, pressure and lawsuits from the large media companies. The democratized model of Youtube and other video sites is a threat to their business model. Even though they've gotten their way with pirated content, they now need to crack down on anything original, because the independent content takes attention away from the dross on television, and to them, the viewers themselves are their property.