The biggest stars on YouTube make huge incomes ... yet they can't keep the vast majority of it

YouTube keeps a 45% cut of any ad revenue gathered by one of your videos.

Ads are only run on a minority of videos shown. Roughly, a video creator will earn $2,000 for every million views. "And then YouTube takes 45 percent,"

http://www.businessinsider.com/money-youtube-stars-actually-make-2014-2?r=UK&IR=T