Settle a debate: DD16 thinks DH is being unfair and I kinda agree with her.

[Anonymous]

My daughter started a YouTube channel about a year ago. Recently, after upgrading her editing software, her videos have really improved in quality. The channel has been monetized from the start, but until recently, she only made a few dollars a month. In the past few months, though, her subscriber count and views have skyrocketed (I’ll admit I don’t totally understand how it all works), and now she’s starting to earn a noticeable amount of money.

This week, she shared with my husband and me how much she’s been making. DH immediately said she should give him 25% of her earnings. She pushed back, saying that it’s her channel, she does all the work, and we wouldn’t even know about it if she hadn’t told us. DH’s argument is that we bought her computer, pay for the internet, and she’s using our home as her base of operations. She feels like she’s being punished.

For context, she keeps her GPA high, is generally a responsible kid, and has been saving most of her earnings. She occasionally spends some money on small things. For example, she spent $50 at Marshall’s last week and about $25 going out to lunch with friends.

I’ve been staying neutral so far, but I’m curious to hear what others think. Is DH reasonable, or should she be allowed to keep her earnings since she’s the one doing the work?

[Anonymous]

This is hard to believe. It's really quite rare to monetize a YouTube channel that quickly.

What content does she have? Link?

[Anonymous]

DH is totally unreasonable. He is going to keep pushing her further away, dis he not want to have a relationship with her? I think it would be a good idea to talk to her about saving money, investing, donating to charity etc but to demand a percentage of her earnings?? Especially if it wasn’t agreed upon ahead of time. DH is a jerk and you need to stand up for your daughter. Would he demand some of her babysitting money too??

[Anonymous]

First, I agree with husband. Keep the 25%.
Second, wth are you thinking letting her do this?
Stop this now.

[Anonymous]

Would he take a percentage if she worked at Chickfila? Your DH is a jerk.

[Anonymous]

Troll

[Anonymous]

You guys, it's a troll... no one makes money off YouTube in this way nowadays.

[Anonymous]

I can see requiring her to save a certain percentage of her earnings to help pay for college. But just skimming off the top for himself seems petty.

[Anonymous]

He's the a.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH is totally unreasonable. He is going to keep pushing her further away, dis he not want to have a relationship with her? I think it would be a good idea to talk to her about saving money, investing, donating to charity etc but to demand a percentage of her earnings?? Especially if it wasn’t agreed upon ahead of time. DH is a jerk and you need to stand up for your daughter. Would he demand some of her babysitting money too??

Agree with this. Dad is being a jerk.

[Anonymous]

DH is being a bit ridiculous on the situation.

Your DD is only 16 and this is a good time to support her and allow her to cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit and be proud of her that she's grown something out of nothing and is now making money off of it.
I would even go further and suggest you have her have a coffee chat with someone who runs their own business or is accomplished in that sector so she can see what growing a business and what continued hard work on it may look like, not like what DH is suggesting which will only turn DD against him (especially at that age) and could hamper her growth if she doesn't feel supported, especially by her own parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is hard to believe. It's really quite rare to monetize a YouTube channel that quickly.

What content does she have? Link?

Like I said, she has been doing this for about a year. Her channel isn't really featuring her. She has a bit of an obsession with a certain topic and she does videos about this topic. For example, there is a Youtube guy that I watch a lot. He goes into great detail about maritime events, history and new developments. As for my DD, her face isn't in the videos, she creates videos and then uses voiceover.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is hard to believe. It's really quite rare to monetize a YouTube channel that quickly.

What content does she have? Link?

Probably one of those GRWM or day in the life types. They explode quickly with older men for the wrong reasons.

[Anonymous]

I am going to assume that your husband is worried that she will just waste all of her income, but then you and he will still need to pay taxes on it. You need to make her put aside some for taxes. If I were you I would also consider making her put aside certain amount aside in savings or investment. Or contribute to her own college fund.

[Anonymous]

Would he feel entitled to claim a percentage of her income from another job for those reasons? Theoretically if she does a telemarketing job, she's using the house, the tech, and the internet.

Also, the optics of a grown man claiming a cut of his daughter's influencer income are disgusting. I would be embarrassed and grossed out by my husband's behavior if I was in your position. I would absolutely not reward that gross behavior with a cut of money he didn't earn.