You've Left Your MCN – Now What?

You’ve left your Multi-Channel Network (MCN) and you’re wondering what happens next. It’s important to recognize that you’ve ended a contract between you and the MCN.

When contracts end, some have temporary or lasting side effects. It’s not doom and gloom though, you’ll soon be ready to take on your channel solo or sign with a new MCN. Let’s go over what happens after you leave your MCN. Please note, this article is not about leaving an MCN nor is it legal advice. It only addresses what happens AFTER you’ve left.

What your MCN agreement says

If you’ve left your MCN, you should already be familiar with the terms of the contract. Contracts exist to protect you and the company as it relates to your relationship. Often, you may have to provide 30-90 days notice to break the contract. In other cases, they may still get a part of your revenue for an extended period of time. Make sure to read through the contract in detail to know exactly what you’re locked into and for how long.

Re-monetize your account

When you’re with an MCN, they monetize your videos and pay you directly. When you leave, your channel will no longer have revenue enabled because you no longer have a monetizable account. To re-monetize your videos, you’ll need to have an AdSense account.

First, you’ll need to make sure that your MCN has disconnected from you by checking your Status Page. If at the top it lists your MCN, then they haven’t yet removed you from their system. If beneath your name is empty, then you’re free. Now, you’ll need to create an AdSense account, and link it through your Monetization page. While you will need to enter some financial and tax information, it’s easy to do. Monetization almost instantly becomes enabled when you link them.

Next, you will need to re-monetize your videos. To do that, you can either do it in bulk on the same Monetization page or you can do it based on the video. In some cases, such as ones with copyright claims against them you won’t be able to monetize them.

Automatically monetize your videos

To simplify your life, you can have your videos automatically monetized. To do this, you’re going to go into the Upload Defaults page and scroll down to the Monetization section. You should tick off the Monetize with ads option. Then tick off the Ad formats you want to include - most people accept all the options. Finally, if you’re producing longer content you can add mid-roll ads in the Ad breaks section.

Download your channel ad stats

When you leave your MCN, your historical revenue and ad rates metric disappear. This occurs because those stats come from an ad account that is no longer linked. While you may not see the value in that information, it gives you financial context. You'll be able to see how much you made with your MCN versus afterward. As such, it’s a good idea to download the information before the MCN disconnects you. That way you can look back and see how your channel is doing.

Prepare for fewer views

This may not happen to you - but some channels experience a slight drop in views after leaving their MCN. MCN’s do some cross-promotion between partnered channels that results in some extra views. When you leave the MCN, you no longer are part of that cross-promotion. One user I spoke with noted they lost 5-10% of the views they would usually get within the first 48 hours. Another said their videos would get about 25% less than usual since leaving. But, another said their views didn’t drop at all. So while it may not affect you, you should still prepare for it.

If you’ve left your MCN, you’ll need to do a few things to get your channel back on track. From dealing with the lasting effects of your contract to re-enabling monetization. While it may be time-consuming, with proper consideration you can get your channel back on track!

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