Increasing Bhutanese Content Creators

The youth of new generation is breaking the stereotype of profession and charting into the digital workstations

By Tenzin Lhaden

Anyone would be charmed by the idea of having their own social media page or a YouTube channel where they can create their own contents and upload given the continuous extension of the video creating culture
All things considered, a fun and continuous engagement moments can possibly change anyone into a well-known online personality or celebrity as well as opening avenues to meet new individuals, contact more extensive crowds and indeed, even earning from the social media page and channels. With ever evolving apps, the developers are designing apps friendlier and easier where anyone can engage without any special trainings or skills.
Notwithstanding that Bhutan has a small crowd of population to help achieve the hits, hopeful content creators of YouTube who need to flaunt their charm and abilities are determined. For certain, their expectations are no less than content creators will get the acknowledgment they deserve just like Yeshi Lhendup Films who received the first ever Silver Creator Award or Play Button from YouTube in the country.
Yeshi started his journey as a film maker when he was in the college. People liked his work and came forward appreciating his work which made him determined to work in creative media and showcase his passion for audio and visuals. Then after researching YouTube and its future scope, he started his own channel and has hits of 171k(thousand) subscribers today.
Despite this accomplishment, he said several difficulties and challenges were faced such as, lack of quality customer, lack of equipment in the market, lack of human resources, online payment, tax on equipment, and audiences lack of knowledge about YouTube and costly internet serviced.
Currently he earns $200 to $400 per month from YouTube. “I cannot earn like the other YouTubers outside Bhutan who make more than $1200 (US Dollar) per month because the eligibility to earn from YouTube is not listed on the monetization countries,” he said.
Similarly, M-Studio started with music to support young Bhutanese talents. They make music videos, kids content like nursery rhymes and children’s vlog, Dzomba a Dzongkha Zumba and talk show called Karma Sum with M-Studio. They now hit 31.4k subscribers.
The founder of M-Studio, Choying Jatsho said, “We were one of the first few to create a dedicated YouTube channel, bringing the Bhutanese audience to watch YouTube was a challenge to us. On top of that, the slow and expensive internet chargers added to the challenge.”
At 28, Tenzing Choden or popularly known as Chundhala, who is an employee of educational firm was driven by the dictum, “Find your passion and it is no longer work,” which deeply influenced her to pursue her dream into content creation. She started creating contents that can help tell a story which is close to one’s heart or even share daily lives with people in order to make them feel virtually connected. “I found it very interesting how videos when used the right way can be very knowledgeable for people who want to travel, learn new skill, or for instance even be more conscious about their local community,” she said.
Video touches everyone. It can harness powerful emotions when packaged in a sharable format that encapsulates everything, this design of passion played a pivotal role in starting her journey as a YouTuber.
According to Chundhala, a YouTuber need to be a consistent creator who uploads videos regularly and also can get his/her words to the audience whereby being consistent can be tough at times. “I feel like it is my responsibility to show up to my audience and subscribers, that is why I always try to tame my routine and upload on Thursdays at 6pm without fail,” she asserted.
She has 5.04k subscribers and is currently earning from YouTube. There is no fixed amount of earnings as it completely depends on the number of people who subscribed and watch the advertisements placed in between the video.
This new trending career has endless opportunities and can generate income depending on degree of the popularity of your channel. “If you think you can target the audience and make quality content, being a YouTuber is your cup of tea. Aim for being the expert in whatever content you create and hence, being consistent is must,” she added.
Bhutan is not listed under the YouTube monetisation countries, which mean country eligible to earn from your videos. Bhutan is seen as a negligeable market of audience or viewers in the global market with small population size. With increasing numbers of content creators and more youths entering into this passion, Bhutan may not be too far to monetize the creations with authentic and unique Bhutanese culture and tradition contents with global appeal.