On the 28th of June 2012, YouTube executive Tim Shey announced a new award to be given to any channel that hits 1 million subscribers: The Gold Play Button.
At the time, only 78 channels had reached 1 million. These creators were the top of YouTube at the time.
However, by 2015 a new problem had emerged. The Gold Play Button was originally designed for the creators at the top of YouTube, the best of the best. Over the next 3 years since the award was announced the number of eligible channels jumped from 78, to over 2,000.
The award had largely lost it’s exclusivity.
YouTube needed another award to give to the creators on the top of the platform.
And so, at Vidcon 2015, VP of YouTube Product Management Matthew Glotzbach formally announced the Diamond Play Button, a new award to be given to channels that reach the 10 million subscribers milestone. At the time, only 35 channels qualified for the award.
Would this be the peak of YouTube growth? YouTube channels surely couldn’t exceed milestones unachievable by most mainstream TV shows, could they?
Yes, they could.
On the 10th of September 2019, YouTuber PewDiePie uploaded a video titled “Unboxing 100 MIL YouTube AWARD!!” in which he unboxed a new “Red Play Button” YouTube had sent him for hitting 100 million subscribers.
There are currently 4 of these awards in existence:
One owned by T-series, one by Cocomelon, one by SET India, and one (previously) owned by PewDiePie.
I say previously, as on the 18th of October 2021, PewDiePie gifted his Red Play Button to a loyal subscriber called “LizardLava” as a wedding present. When asked why he did this, PewDiePie himself stated…
“To me, it felt like it was something that had too much importance to it, and I don’t want it”.
LizardLava soon uploaded a video unboxing the Play-Button on his YouTube channel. The video quickly started gaining popularity, soon reaching 100,000 views. The video also gained attention from YouTuber JackSucksAtLife.
Jack is notorious in the YouTube community for collecting Play Buttons. Up to now, his largest award was the Diamond award he received in late 2020, and he was looking for something larger.
LizardLava and Jack soon struck up a deal. Jack would give LizardLava an undisclosed amount of money to help support his family and to go towards a house, and LizardLava would give Jack the Play Button.
Jack released a video showing the process of how he came into possession of the Play Button and unboxing it.
Many people don’t see the point of YouTube Play Buttons. Some claim they’re simply overvalued, not worth the metal they’re made of.
The truth is, it’s not about the physical value of the metals in the Play Button that matter, it’s about what it stands for. As of the time of writing, only one non-commercial creator has reached 100 million subscribers. In TV terms, 100 million views is only attainable by billion-dollar corporations. On YouTube, all you need is a camera, an internet connection, and an army of 9 year olds.
The People’s Press 