A day with some of Las Vegas’ biggest YouTube stars

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – YouTube has been a dominant force on the internet for almost 16 years. Billions of people log in to watch videos from their favorite YouTubers, some of whom live here in Las Vegas.

8 News Now spoke to two content creators who have become the city’s most popular YouTubers for several years.

“We have a great ambition, a great passion for filmmaking and acting,” said Hilly Hindi of “The Hillywood Show”.

For over 10 years Hilly and Hannah Hindi have been parodying popular films and TV shows such as “Stranger Things” and “Lord of the Rings” on their channel.

“It looks huge and well-made, and it’s just us,” Hilly shared. “It’s just us,” repeated Hannah. “We are not sponsored; We don’t have a network behind us and we do everything alone, ”said Hilly.

The process of producing a video takes months at a time, with each parody uploading anywhere from six months to a year.

Her channel has grown to nearly 2 million subscribers, with fans all over the world including the people who parody her.

Due to the high cost of production, The Hillywood Show cannot rely on YouTube advertising revenue alone. They are financially supported by fan donations through the Patreon service, where fans can receive exclusive content through their subscription.

“We are so grateful for the fan donations; We are so grateful to the fans for supporting us, “said Hilly,” but at some point in their life I want them not to have to give up. I want you to just watch and enjoy. ”

The Hillywood Show is one of many YouTube channels based in Las Vegas. Like Hillywood, Andrew Foy has been creating content on YouTube for years.

“I always get these comments: ‘I’ve been watching for 100,000; I’ve been watching since you were 10 years old, ‘”Foy shared.

The 19-year-old fingerstyle guitarist has gained nearly 3 million subscribers by posting covers of popular songs. Foy has expanded his channel over the years by adding vlogs, Q-and-As, and collaborations with his younger sister.

“That drove the channel in a different direction and it definitely helped,” he said, “because these videos went really well.”

Foy says YouTube is like a full-time job. He was able to use the money from a partnership with GuitarTricks and advertising revenue to pay for his college, car, and savings.

Foy wants to develop his music here in Las Vegas.

“I think my next big thing is creating your own music,” he shared. “A lot of people have asked me about original music.”

With restrictions easing, The Hillywood Show is hoping to be back on set and continue talks with the studios to move the show even further.

“Although we’re doing everything, we’re at a point where we’re ready for a team, for a Hillywood team,” said Hilly.

Many of you may be wondering, “How do you create a YouTube channel and how can someone make money from it?”

Getting started is pretty easy.

Go to “Create Account” on YouTube and start uploading videos. Once a channel has a certain number of subscribers, they can apply for the YouTube affiliate program. This is how channels can make money with ad revenue, memberships, merchandising, and more. While this allows content creators to pocket some cash, Google takes a percentage of that revenue.

Other channels use Patreon. Another great way to make money is through a sponsored trademark deal, where a YouTuber works with a company and promotes their product.