This pay likely makes up a significant portion of YouTube creators' revenue in addition to in-video sponsor spots/whatever a creator's equivalent is. Without this kind of payment it's not likely that a YouTube competitor could take off in a meaningful way.
YouTube pays content creators: https://www.youtube.com/howyoutubeworks/product-features/monetization/
This pay likely makes up a significant portion of YouTube creators' revenue in addition to in-video sponsor spots/whatever a creator's equivalent is. Without this kind of payment it's not likely that a YouTube competitor could take off in a meaningful way.