[0:00] 7,456,000
[0:04] channels have been wiped out and removed from 
the YouTube partner program. In other words,  
[0:11] their monetization is gone. And some channels 
have lost an insane amount of money. Like,  
[0:18] we're talking lifechanging income. Pay your bills 
income wiped out based on the changes YouTube made  
[0:26] to the partner program in 2025. And at the time 
we weren't really worried because the the verbiage  
[0:34] what they said didn't change all that much. A 
few slight changes but now just in the last few  
[0:41] weeks few months so many channels have been wiped 
out gone including videos over 12 million videos  
[0:51] deleted from YouTube. So, what I want to do is I 
want to step back and catch you up to what I've  
[0:58] been studying for weeks because I'm in this pivot 
heading towards AI. And quite frankly, I kind of  
[1:06] feel like, wow, that was a huge blow. Like my plan 
to get a brand new channel monetized is scary. But  
[1:16] after doing this research, I've come up with about 
14 steps and I feel fantastic. And if you too are  
[1:23] worried because you want to leverage AI, you want 
to tell stories that would be otherwise impossible  
[1:30] with the level of production that you can today 
with the tools we have today, then I guarantee  
[1:36] these steps in order will put your mind at ease 
and give you direction. Number one, we really  
[1:43] want to think about the production level and how 
we really think about creating YouTube videos.  
[1:50] We're going to make a lot of decisions based 
on creating something unique and different  
[1:55] and something that stands out from the rest of 
the channels that are using the same tools that  
[2:01] you'll use that I'll use that all AI creators 
use and that's the difference. So, as we talk  
[2:09] about voiceovers, I'm going to explain exactly 
the very best thing to do, the second best thing,  
[2:15] and so on. I'm going to explain how to structure 
your channel again so you're safe. And that begins  
[2:22] with one very important video that we're going to 
link across a brand new channel or the channel we  
[2:29] already have. And if you do this, you're just 
setting yourself up for success. And here's  
[2:35] what's fantastic. I feel so much better. Like for 
the last few days, just it's really nerving. So,  
[2:42] we're going to link to this one video in the about 
page on YouTube. When you go to a channel, there's  
[2:48] an about page and you can link to this special 
video. So, if someone accesses your channel  
[2:55] and they're reviewing your channel and they're 
wondering, is this channel a channel that really  
[3:00] belongs in the partner program? This one video is 
going to save you. So, first let's just talk about  
[3:07] what this video is, what it does, how it works, 
and so on. You want to create a video that really  
[3:13] expresses that this is a channel that's created 
by a human being. It's not a pipeline production.  
[3:19] And even if you're using tools to craft and 
create an output a script or a voice over,  
[3:26] you want to make sure that you have narrative 
control and you're making decisions and you  
[3:32] structure the channel and this one video to really 
highlight that. So, for example, you might say,  
[3:39] and I've got some notes here, excuse me. You might 
say, "Hey, uh, this is Brian G. Johnson, and on  
[3:45] this channel, I research, I write with the help 
of AI, and I edit extensively historical videos,  
[3:54] uh, storybased videos, whatever the direction 
of your niche is." And in doing this, you're  
[4:01] telling the person that's looking at your channel 
in a very human way, hey, this is who I am. This  
[4:08] is what this channel is about, and this is the 
important part. This is what makes it unique.  
[4:15] The idea is we're going to build the channel in 
a very specific manner that makes it unique. And  
[4:22] one big word, brandable. Now, this is a word 
that other channels people are talking about,  
[4:28] Think Media, but I want to explain exactly how to 
do that. Oh, brand your channel. Let's talk about  
[4:34] how to brand a channel at a super high level. And 
we're not just talking about making an avatar.  
[4:41] We're talking about a number of decisions you can 
make to stand out and create something that is  
[4:47] unique and stands on its own merit and it can't be 
copied. That's the difference. Okay. So, so think  
[4:55] about this video that you're going to make, right? 
You're going to make a 90-second 2-minute video  
[5:00] and you're going to say, "Hey, my name is Brian 
and I'm the person behind this channel and I do  
[5:06] the work. I research. I write with the help of AI. 
I craft and create images by myself with prompts  
[5:15] all in a con congruent congruent manner to really 
tell the story that I want to tell that otherwise  
[5:22] wouldn't be possible. That's why I'm excited 
today about AI. In fact, I've literally been  
[5:29] building my own production suite to really craft 
and create great content. So, it is congruent and  
[5:37] like what we have today is incredible, but it 
doesn't matter if you don't do these steps. So,  
[5:42] the second thing is again you want to talk 
about the research. I researched this. Now,  
[5:48] there are some really powerful things that you 
can do again to stand out. Well, if you really  
[5:54] think about just a few things like the goal here 
is to craft and create something with highlevel  
[6:02] production and if you think in this manner manner 
you'll start to stand out. It's unavoidable. So,  
[6:09] for example, a lot of the very best channels 
and literally like production TV, Netflix,  
[6:17] uh, documentary style videos, they let you know 
what you're watching. In the absence of AI and  
[6:23] robotics, we're actually totally screwed. We 
are working to build tools that one day could  
[6:27] help us make new discoveries and address some of 
humanity's biggest challenges like climate change  
[6:31] and curing cancer. Hi, welcome to another episode 
of Cold Fusion. Here's a question. How can I have  
[6:38] you ever heard of a channel named Cold Fusion? 
Incredible documentaries. Now, what's interesting  
[6:44] is this is a channel and when you watch there's 
an intro, a hook and then they mention you're  
[6:50] watching we'll take detail and discuss what 
it all means. You are watching Fusion TV.  
[7:01] and it's a different voice and it grounds the user 
and it lets you know where you're at and this is a  
[7:07] unique viewing experience. There's another channel 
I believe it's AI revolution and they do the same  
[7:14] thing and they make these decisions and they use 
and create assets. So the stinger a channel string  
[7:22] stinger stringer would be you're watching Cold 
Fusion or for me it might be like you're watching  
[7:30] uh history with Brian G. Johnson and here's the 
thing a lot of channels are doing this and if  
[7:37] that's where it ends for you I don't think it's 
good enough. I think it's too easy for someone to  
[7:44] say, well, this is history with David, which this 
is a tactic that's going around. And the idea is  
[7:50] good, but the implementation is even more powerful 
and really more important. Don't just say history  
[7:58] with David. have the audacity to create the 
video I mentioned that you link to in your about  
[8:04] page that you link to in each individual video's 
description really explaining who you are, what  
[8:11] you do, what makes this channel different, and 
the brand direction. Okay? Now, if you do these  
[8:17] things, you immediately separate yourself because 
the person reviewing your channel is going to run  
[8:23] into the video and you're sitting down talking 
to the camera explaining what makes your channel  
[8:31] different. And and here's the thing, this is the 
very best way to do this. And if you're afraid of  
[8:36] that, I get it. But the fact of the matter is, if 
you want to play smart and feel good about what  
[8:41] you're making and worry a whole lot less when 
it comes time for monetization, then stepping  
[8:48] through this fear and making it happen is how to 
make it happen. Now, another thing you can do is  
[8:55] edit. Spend a little time learning how to edit, 
how to piece things together so you do have high  
[9:01] production. That's the thing. Think about viewers 
on YouTube. Do they want to watch a channel that  
[9:07] mass prodduces thousands of videos on a monthly 
basis across seven channels? Probably not. Are  
[9:14] they excited to sit down and watch a video that 
is between 30 and 90 minutes covering the history  
[9:22] of Rome or Caesar and and really took the time 
to dive deep and understand? Like for example,  
[9:30] did you know that uh July is based on Julius 
Caesar's name? Julius July. Did you know that  
[9:38] a C-section is well for Caesar? And there's 
just on and on. And if you do the research,  
[9:46] right, this is another way that you can thing that 
you can mention in the video you create and even  
[9:52] better in the videos you produce. Now, I know this 
sounds like a little extra because it is a little  
[9:59] extra because a lot of people ruined it. There's 
too much AI slop on YouTube. And what we're going  
[10:07] to do is we're going to separate ourselves from 
AI slop by creating extensively researched, highly  
[10:15] written, smart videos that stand out. So what you 
can do is you can do the research to back up with  
[10:24] citations just like they do when they write a big 
important paper. At the end of the paper there  
[10:29] are citations. This is where I learned this from. 
And you can do the same thing in your video. Even  
[10:35] if you use AI, do it smart. Separate yourself from 
the crowd and you're going to feel so much better.  
[10:43] So find a site that's got got great resources 
based on history or whatever the subject you want  
[10:51] to cover. And at that point you are separating 
yourself from all the other channels. And you can  
[10:57] have a lower third on in your video explaining, 
hey, this is this information that we're talking  
[11:03] about was sourced here. That is authorative. That 
is like a human being took the time to figure it  
[11:10] out. and you you echo that same very thing in 
the 90 second to two minute video that you link  
[11:18] throughout your channel. Is this making sense? 
And and this is really how to make this happen.  
[11:23] You think about all the decisions you can make to 
separate yourself and create that strong brand. So  
[11:30] for example, number one, with a strong brand, 
it's not just about an avatar. It's about the  
[11:36] direction, the vision, what you're trying to 
achieve, and what makes it premium. You know,  
[11:41] I ask channels, well, what's your channel about? 
What makes it unique? Oh, I do gameplay videos  
[11:48] or I make a documentaries about this. And that's 
okay back in the day, but it's not enough anymore,  
[11:54] especially with AI. So, these are the small extra 
steps you can take to solidify your channel, to  
[12:01] separate yourself, and more. So, number one, have 
the brand stinger. You're watching Cold Fusion or  
[12:09] you're watching History with Brian G. Johnson 
TV, whatever the name of your channel is. Like,  
[12:16] you can't have a generic sounding channel and 
think it's okay because it's not. You have to  
[12:23] separate yourself and then create the avatar. 
Now, here's something really powerful. I've  
[12:28] mentioned two channels. One is documentaries. 
It's called Cold Fusion and it's incredible.  
[12:35] And the voice over, it is unbelievably good. 
So, the very best thing you can do to separate  
[12:43] yourself from the crowd is practice your delivery 
on camera or off camera, but record your voice.  
[12:52] And as you do this more and more, you'll get 
more proficient. It'll sound better. And again,  
[12:58] it'll separate you. That's the best thing you can 
do. Cold Fusion does that. Now, what if you don't  
[13:04] want to put yourself on camera? You don't want 
to record your own voice. I get it. Cuz I really,  
[13:11] my goal was incredibly high production, 100% AI, 
and that's a bit scary. So, what you do is you  
[13:19] do not use the same voice. I can't believe this is 
even a thing. Like, if you take the lazy approach,  
[13:26] you get the lazy response. Nope. Denied. you're 
not in the partner program. Why would anybody,  
[13:32] and I shouldn't even say this, but it's honestly 
how I feel. I don't think it makes sense,  
[13:38] just to go to 11 Labs or another AI tool and get 
the same type of voice over that you've already  
[13:45] heard. I see I see channels, too, because I've 
been researching extensively. I'm like, "Oh, this  
[13:51] is a great channel." And I literally watch like 
so many people, millions and millions of views,  
[13:57] life-changing income. But then I find another 
channel and I'm like, "Oh, interesting. It's  
[14:02] the same voice as that other channel I like." Huh. 
It's the same format. Oh, and they're uploading at  
[14:08] the same cadence. It's like, oh, all the decisions 
are made based on easy. And this just is not easy  
[14:15] when you don't get into the program. And I know 
it's a pain in the ass. But like if you want to be  
[14:21] safe, then the thing to do is take all these steps 
that I'm breaking down and think about how you can  
[14:27] apply them in what you're willing to do to get 
there. Right? So for me, it's like I'm going to  
[14:33] use an AI voice, but maybe I'll introduce my own 
videos. Maybe I'll be on camera for 10 seconds,  
[14:41] do a voice over talking about what the story 
is, and then hand it over to AI. At that point,  
[14:47] now I'm in the video. Now it's my voice and so on 
and all of these things. It's all about premium,  
[14:55] highly brandable video experience that you 
can only get on this one channel. You know,  
[15:02] this is now future creators with Brian G. Johnson. 
Isn't it ironic that when I pivoted a month ago,  
[15:09] this is the format I chose for my channel name 
be and here's why. I didn't even know this at  
[15:15] the time, but it is absolutely the direction 
you want to go and it's not history with David.  
[15:22] That's ridiculous. It's your full name. So, future 
creators because there's a lot of other channels  
[15:29] based on future creators or future, you know, 
future tools with Matt Wolf. Like, exactly.  
[15:36] Did you see what I did there? He's branded. He's 
on his channel. He's communicating. that creates  
[15:43] safety for the part partner program and you can 
get in and you can make it happen. That's how you  
[15:49] want to move forward today in my opinion. So 
by doing these things you're really going to  
[15:54] safeguard yourself. You also want to include in 
your 90 to 2 minute video information about where  
[16:02] you source your materials, how you create them, 
the licenses you have and so on. For example,  
[16:09] music. I highly recommend you use music and sound 
effects. Like instead of thinking mass- prodduce,  
[16:16] pump it out, slow down and create premium. You're 
more likely to not run into trouble. Fantastic.  
[16:24] Instead of going mass production, slow down and 
then source your materials, your music, instead  
[16:32] of using Sunno, which is we'll talk about that in 
a future video. Use a regular music subscription.  
[16:39] So you hold the license and then in that 90 
secondond to 2 minute video you mentioned like all  
[16:45] the video is created by me. Everything is created 
for the video specifically. I don't like reuse  
[16:51] content again and again. I create it once I put 
it in my video. It's a unique viewing experience  
[16:58] engineered by myself and then you add and you can 
add all the sources. I get the music here. I have  
[17:04] a license here. I get I I had the scripts written 
in this particular manner. I I I the citations  
[17:12] come from these websites and it makes it more 
authorative and it makes it safer for you. And  
[17:18] then as I mentioned, you want to include your 
name in the channel and for goodness sakes,  
[17:24] the more you're willing to put yourself in in 
your channel and in your videos, the better. Now,  
[17:31] I honestly believe in a lot of cases it doesn't 
make sense to put yourself or create your own  
[17:38] voice over because I think you probably could 
do better with the technology we have today when  
[17:45] it comes to voiceovers if you do use a premium 
tool like 11 Labs or find the very best AI voice  
[17:53] generator possible and use that. But what you do 
want to do is have the audacity to put yourself  
[17:59] on camera and explain and make that video, that 
90 second to two minute video about how these  
[18:06] videos are created and what I do to make these 
videos because that keeps you safe. You know,  
[18:14] the channel name needs to reflect who you are and 
you you want to make that name real for people.  
[18:21] How do you do that? Well, I can guarantee you if I 
see history with David, it doesn't mean anything.  
[18:27] And I can't connect David to any real person 
because it doesn't exist. Like, here's the thing,  
[18:35] gang. Like, this is Brian G. Johnson TV evolved. 
This is future creators. This is about a premium  
[18:44] experience using premium tools. Uh so viewers 
they just they lay back and they dig while they  
[18:53] watch the videos that we produce and it's a lot 
safer you know we can feel good about what we're  
[18:59] creating and when we do that like putting a real 
name in the channel like I don't want to tell you  
[19:08] the channel I'm going to create because I want 
to I want to show you that it's possible. I'm  
[19:15] going to create this channel. I'll tell you about 
the different software apps I've been creating,  
[19:20] all the things I'm doing to create this premium 
experience. If someone looks at my channel and  
[19:25] they review it and they're like, "Oh, the channel 
name is this with Brian G. Johnson." I was going  
[19:32] to say TV, but with Brian G. Johnson. Well, 
then they can look online. Is Brian G. Johnson  
[19:37] a real person? Oh, he's got another YouTube 
channel that's monetized. He's got 160,000  
[19:45] plus subscribers. He's been around a while. He's 
written a few books. Do you see what I'm saying?  
[19:50] Now, you might think, well, I can't do that. 
That's not the point. The point, listen, like,  
[19:56] you can do this. I didn't start being an author. 
I wrote a book, right? That doesn't mean you need  
[20:02] to write a book. It means you need to establish a 
real personal brand. And you want to attach your  
[20:09] real name to one maybe two channels to establish 
authority and human engineer. And when they look  
[20:17] at and research your name, they're going to find 
what you've done. Or you could also like link to  
[20:24] a channel you already have when you where you are 
on camera. You see what I'm saying? It's like I I  
[20:30] know this kind of is not the faceless channel 
blueprint that is so lucrative, not lucrative,  
[20:39] that is so appealing because you're autonomous. 
You're anonymous. That's the word, anonymous. But  
[20:46] it's the direction that keeps us safe. And for 
me personally, like this is what I'm excited to  
[20:51] teach. I'm going to be honest. I was freaking out 
for days. I've been working on software trying to  
[20:57] figure out like researching video generation cling 
and VO vo 3.1 all the technologies dialing in my  
[21:08] voice over for months not months weeks because I 
already knew that it's just a smart way to build  
[21:17] but now it's like of course that's what you have 
to do you know when I started my my journey I I  
[21:24] knew knew I had to have something that was highly 
unique and different. So when you go to 11 Labs,  
[21:30] you don't choose a voice that's made because you 
can be done and you're lazy. You spend a day and  
[21:36] you craft a great voice that is unique to you 
and you're the only one that can use it and you  
[21:42] only use it on your one specific channel. That's 
it. Another thing you could do is you might want  
[21:49] to also include your face in the channel art. I 
think this is just a really smart thing to do. It  
[21:56] separates you. Especially like the more I think 
about this, the more I just feel better, right?  
[22:03] Because like like look, I don't have anything to 
hide. I'm creating something that's unique. And as  
[22:12] I say this, I just want to step back and say this. 
If you're an AI creator and you lost monetization,  
[22:20] this is the path forward. These are the steps 
to take to safeguard yourself. This is how you  
[22:26] produce videos in the future. This is how you 
update your channel art right now to separate  
[22:32] yourself. You make the video I'm describing. You 
do all these things and you have something that  
[22:39] you can feel good about. Like because yesterday 
I didn't feel good. Like literally for the last  
[22:46] month since I made the last Brian G. Johnson 
TV video. I have been hard at work researching,  
[22:53] figuring out, and I know it's been a little 
bit of a too long of a break from that video,  
[22:59] but I just I can only go as fast as I go. And I'm 
not going to come here and just spew stuff based  
[23:07] on just research. I have to be in it, doing 
it, figuring it out, and taking steps to move  
[23:13] forward. And when I'm doing that, then I'll come 
here and I'll report back. So that's that's where  
[23:18] I've been. And you know, I was really freaking out 
like building this software for a month that would  
[23:24] allow me to really create unique and different 
scripts. Not because I'm trying to game YouTube,  
[23:30] but because it just makes sense. So, you know, 
these are the things I'm thinking about. And  
[23:36] honestly, you know, YouTube is a nerve-wracking 
game. Being an entrepreneur, scary. stepping  
[23:43] out and doing things in the face of fear hard and 
I've been in a lot of fear and it's just because  
[23:49] I didn't have the path figured out, you know, 
but I kept showing up. I kept asking AI specific  
[23:57] questions to guide me through this process and 
now I feel great because it makes sense to me.  
[24:04] It didn't make sense before because I didn't fig 
I didn't have it all figured out. How to make  
[24:10] sure and this is the point that is most important. 
How do I make sure I build a channel so when the  
[24:15] person reviewing my channel has to run into the 
fact that this is me, this is what the channel is  
[24:22] about and it's unique and different. If you don't 
have that figured out, don't create an AIdriven  
[24:30] uh channel in 2026. I don't think it makes sense. 
But if you follow this blueprint, I feel like you  
[24:36] should feel safe because there's nothing, you 
know, sneaky that you're doing. You're just  
[24:40] trying to create the very best viewing experience 
uh possible. Another thing you want to do is you  
[24:46] want to build out your videos, your documentaries, 
your story in the unique way I just described.  
[24:54] You know, I didn't I don't want to start a video 
about Caesar like AI is going to write the story.  
[25:00] you know, they're it's just going to go straight 
to how how things ended unless you're very  
[25:06] specific and you do research to identify what 
made Caesar unique, why, what was the timeline,  
[25:15] when did he cross the line, when things went from 
they loved him till they hated him till they they  
[25:22] felt like they had to kill him incredible. Like, 
that's what you want to figure out and use AI to  
[25:28] do that. Who wouldn't? It would be ridiculous not 
to, but do it in a smart, ethical way and you'll  
[25:36] be fine. So, when you do that, like that's how you 
script. Create a system where you're not using a  
[25:43] template system. This is something that YouTube 
talks about. If it looks like every video follows  
[25:49] the same exact template, you're in trouble. But 
if you create stories that are very unique to the  
[25:56] individuals, the people, what happened, Chernobyl, 
for example, another story I would love to tell,  
[26:03] and it's so funny because it's like I already knew 
this. I don't want to tell the same story that I  
[26:10] was so fascinated by when I watched the YouTube 
uh YouTube when I watched the HBO Max series  
[26:16] Chernobyl. I want to create something unique and 
different. I want to tell the story through a  
[26:23] unique lens that makes the viewing experience 
one recognizable. This is what they came for.  
[26:31] But did you know this? This is the real story. 
Like like Caesar is fascinating. People think,  
[26:37] you know, Caesar was a politician. He was not. He 
was a general. And what happened was the system  
[26:44] was broken. He figured out like how to leverage 
the system and he he grew too powerful and you  
[26:52] know when does the story transition like the more 
you can really focus and slow down and make great  
[26:58] videos the better off you're going to do. And 
if this sounds like it's hard work it is. And  
[27:04] you know a little bit of effort will go so long 
in the future. You know, these are the things  
[27:10] you you simply want to do and then when you go to 
monetize, you're going to be safe. Here are a few  
[27:16] thoughts. Do not mass-produce and just pump out 
videos. Do not do the stories. Uh you have AI read  
[27:24] stories from Reddit. You will not get in no matter 
what you do because it's lazy and anybody could  
[27:30] create that experience. Think about this. If your 
channel doesn't stand out on its own and if it  
[27:36] looks like every other channel, you're in trouble. 
That's why your full name and the and the channel  
[27:43] direction, you know, history documentaries with 
your full name or stories with your full name,  
[27:50] your channel art with your picture, the video 
you submit as to not submit but the video you  
[27:56] create and publish to the channel based on how I 
make these videos. Boom. Good to go. And then you  
[28:03] make sure the reviewer has to see that. You put 
it in all the places, video description, com pin,  
[28:11] a comment, um, all the things, and in the about 
section, and you're going to be absolutely good  
[28:18] to go. Here's a no-brainer. You have to click the 
box like, yes, this is AI synthesized video. When  
[28:25] you upload, there's a process. Check the box. It's 
good practice. You got to play by the rules. So,  
[28:31] there you have it, gang. It's good to make this 
video. Um, it's been a little bit challenging over  
[28:36] the last month since I made the last video, but 
we're moving forward. I feel great about AI, and  
[28:42] there's all kinds of ways to use AI. And that's 
it. Welcome to the new channel, Future Creators  
[28:47] with Brian G. Johnson. I'll see you on the next 
one. You dig? Peace, power, progress, poodles.