I think, personally, that the “Does James Hoffmann make money from YT” is so, soooo complicated.
Indirectly, he’s certainly made some from me. Not much, but some, For a start, I bought his book. I find it very interesting, and I got a book I like and the pleasure of rummaging in it and he got a few quid. I’ve also bought other stuff (beans, a Clever Dripper etc) from Square Mile and, but or the YT stuff, I may never have even noticed Square Mile. So, at least indirectly, has made a tiny bit from me, and I sure don’t begrudg it - I’ve watched a lot of his content.
I’ve also priced up some of the equipment he uses to make videos, and there’s a LOT of money gone into that. There’s also the amount of time either he, or someone he has to pay, has to spend in post-production. But …. oes all that time and expense on equipment only get used for YT stuff? Or does it get used directly for other business uses? I don’t know, though I’d guess there’s other business uses too, and the exact proportion would impact heavily on how much he “makes” from YT stuff.
Finally, there’s the “opportunity cost” to his time on YT. He runs (co-owns, I believe) a decently successful business and as any business owner knows, doing x hours on a non-profitable project means that those x hours either have to come from not spending them on the business (which would in all likelihood be a much more profitable way to spend his time) or, it comes out of his leisure time which is something most business owners don’t get that much of, so value highly.
I don’t believe anyone can be sure if he genuinely makes money from YT, even indirectly, without having access toa lot of information that just isn’t in the public domain but, especially if you include the opportunity cost of the time he spends when he could be spending it on his main business, I very strongly doubt making money from YT is on his radar.
But if he does make something from it …. good. I get value from watching it so I sure don’tcare if he makes a bit by making it.
My ONLY consern with anybody making YT content, to be honest, is whether I think the revenue they make, or the free goods some get, are sufficient to skew whether or not the views they provide are sincere, and of course,whether they are competent in the first place? If they are, good luck to them.
One thing I do like about his content is that he is usually very careful to point it out when he is making a point he considers to be very subjective, like what suits his personal tastes or preferences, which of course may not be those of the viewer. That might be whetherhe likesark, mdium or light roast, or whether he likes the UI or workflow of a grnder, etc. I have a lot of time for his stuff, both for the educational aspects on coffee, but also for the entertainment. For me, it’s a distinct two-fer. But, for others …. YMMV.
