[mu53]

If Youtube's services (streaming/storage) are not paid for, they can't pay content creators.

When people do not pay for services directly with a credit card, they pay for it indirectly with ads and data collection. The internet would be a better place if companies didn't have to worry so much about monetizing indirectly. Plus, the only companies that can give out free services often have monopolistic intent.

This whole debate embodies why the internet has become what it has.

[zahlman]

I agree with all of that. But I'm not debating; I'm trying to understand what the underlying numbers are.