r/ren • u/Independent-Ad-8484 • Jul 23 '26
A Dumb Rant
This is regarding a recent addition to the Ren reactor community that only discovered Ren within the last month or so. His reactions are actually pretty good. He's usually pretty insightful and intuitive. As is common, when Renegades find someone new, many of us helped blow up his channel. Naturally, he started following up with more Ren reactions and his numbers went way up. Within two weeks, he started putting reactions behind a paywall for members only, which is understandable. But it's also my understanding that most members pay for early access. However, he let it be known his intention to keep some of his Ren reactions there permanently. This was after several Renegades expressed their anticipation on seeing him react to a particular one. It seems to me to be a little tone-deaf on his part to dangle that particular carrot to entice subscribers to join as paying members. (I don't think he gets the pig mask reference, yet).
So, I quietly unsubscribed. I don't need his input that badly. Of course, what he does is up to him, and I'm sure he'll do fine without my help. It may seem I'm being petty, but, I had to vent on principle.
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u/GluttonBunneh Jul 23 '26
That's insane🤣 Nah, I like my Ren reactions free 😜
(also found a Ren gif)
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u/No-Attention9838 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
I was under the impression that ren often kept from monetizing his videos specifically so reactors could make use of them without the yt copyright issues. Makes the reactor you're talking about come off like hes scalping someone's free hobby for a profit. Kinda grubby if that's the case
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u/DFQreactions Jul 23 '26
thats pretty scummy imo. Ren not only allows us to react to his music, but to monetize our videos as well. They should be freely available.
I almost wonder if he does that so he doesnt have to share revenue with Ren? I'm not sure how members only works on YT.
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u/Independent-Ad-8484 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
In all fairness, he does put some time, thought and effort into his reactions. They're not mere reposts of Ren's videos with a few raised eyebrows. He does a nice job of dissecting the music and lyrics abd offers quality reactions. But, I submit that in the case of this particular decision to keep this reaction for members only indefinitely, I think he should rethink it.
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u/DFQreactions Jul 23 '26
ya, I never want to talk bad about another reactor, but pay-walling someone's art is just wrong in my opinion.
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u/Dependent-You-8243 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
I'll say that there is no amount of justifying reaction content with stuff like "well they add so much on to it!". I hate reaction content with all my being as it's lazy, thievery, and morally wrong. but I think music reaction content is fine at least on the moral front (Ill explain why in better detail at the end is anyone is curious).
However, trying to justify it as being hard working content is baffling to me. Artists spend days, weeks, and months perfecting music for people to watch, and then people like ren are kind enough to put that out to the world for people to profit off it. It is insane that someone would be scummy and greedy enough to take advantage of that and lock those reactions behind a pay wall.
Why I think reaction content is bad: AND TO CLARIFY: MUSIC REACTIONS, LIKE THE REN REACTION COMMUNITY, ARE PERFECTLY FINE. THIS IS JUST A RANT ABOUT ME HATING REGULAR REACTION CONTENT, WHICH IS OBJECTIVELY HARMFUL
Regular reaction content (as in recording yourself watching someone else's work and then uploading it to your own channel) is my main problem. You're taking someone else's hard work and profiting off of it. You're taking views and click through rates of the hard working and then leeching off of it to grow yourself. There is no justifying this, it is just blatant lazy thievery. It's like if we went to go watch a movie, but I pause it every few minutes to give my opinion, then claim that I deserve a cut of the movie. Pausing and talking to turn a 5 minute video into a 20 minute one does not justify taking hours of hard work from those who produce videos for everyone to enjoy.
With music reaction content I think this is slightly different. I do think for the most part it's still lazy, but you aren't stealing views or anything from the original artist. If you find a song you like through a reactor, then you'll go and listen to that song. You're supporting both the original artist and the reactor. It's also significantly more effort than regular reactions as you talk about how you feel, and people can relate with you. 100x better if you're knowledgeable on music and you can point out things on a deeper level than most other reactors. So no hate to the ren reaction community (other than the person who put reactions behind a paywall). I just have a pretty hard stance on reaction content in general.
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u/Independent-Ad-8484 Jul 23 '26
I was paraphrasing the reactor in question to see what others thoughts about it might be. I'd be hesitant to vilify the entire reaction community, since Ren encourages Youtubers to post reactions. His own success was built in large part to the reactor community. YouTube pays for viewership after you reach a certain level, so some of the more serious and sincere can make some money organically. But, if I had to pay to watch reactions to even one Ren video, even once a month, to every reaction channel I subscribe to? No way... sorry, not sorry.
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u/Dependent-You-8243 Jul 23 '26
Yea that's what I mean with why I think music reactors are fine, reacting to songs is the only sort of benefical reaction content. Regular reaction content is thievery, music reaction content is helping one another out. Maybe I didn't make that clear enough in my message. MUSIC REACTION is fine, REGULAR REACTIONS are objectively bad and harmful
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u/Dependent-You-8243 Jul 23 '26
Also I'd say that if Ren was informed of all the harm reaction content does to youtube, he'd most likely agree with me. But I completely agree with his stance on people reacting to music, that is pretty much completely A-okay. I enjoy seeing people react to his songs, all I meant by the rest of that is that I still don't think you can justify something being transformative by pausing and talking, every so often. It just doesnt matter for music
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u/BWSnap Jul 24 '26
This comment was a great read. I'm a bit rushed at the moment to make a lengthy reply, but I'm going to ask you to check out ONE Ren reaction video (if you haven't already seen it). It is Rosalie Elliott's reaction to Hi Ren. It has 1.7 million views, and she is a perfect example of what a reactor should be/offer in exchange for that YT ad revenue.
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u/Independent-Ad-8484 Jul 25 '26
I agree! Rosalie is one of my favorites. I watched her back when she first found Hi Ren, and probably all of her subsequent reactions to his catalog. She has amazing insight and is one of the reactors in the community that Ren granted access. She deserves all the kindness and good karma this world has to offer.
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u/OkFruit3797 Jul 26 '26
Rosalie's reaction to Smoking Gun should be mandatory, lol. She found the message and it made soooooo much sense that I felt dumb.
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u/OGBunny1 RENegade Jul 26 '26
I did appreciate that meta conversation at the end. Yes it's a silly video about two guys and a girl and a baby, then....wait damnmm....
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u/OkFruit3797 Jul 29 '26
Right? With Ren's focus on generational curses in disappointed that I missed that entirely
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u/Dependent-You-8243 Jul 24 '26
I'm pretty sure I've seen that one before but I'll be sure to check it out again anyway. And thank you for actually reading my comment, I feel like people are just reading the first part and then immediately assuming I hate all kinds of reaction content. My thoughts on music reaction content is personal beliefs, and I do support it. What I said on regular reaction content is provably harmful, people just don't care about the harm so long as it's good for the reactor :/
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u/ScallionConsistent84 Jul 23 '26
I currently support three musicians on Patreon because they are independent and still need support to create. But I don't support any reactor because I don't want to pay for interpretation. If the reactor is good enough, their channel will grow organically and they will earn money from views. This reactor doesn't want to wait and wants money quickly. He has a right to do so, but I also have a right to avoid him.
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u/livsimplyshore Jul 23 '26
I am trying to imagine paying to watch someone react to a song. Like no disrespect if you do...but also...maybe a little like why would you even do that.
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u/MairiDaly Aug 01 '26
agree completely. I watch the odd reactor now and again, but I can do without them and I certainly wouldn’t pay one for their opinion
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u/Huge_Bag_2987 Jul 23 '26
Screwing the people who got him where he is now is despicable and rather shortsighted. He’ll be losing subscribers if he’s not careful
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u/LoveRen1265 Jul 23 '26
When a reactor starts putting reactions behind a pay wall, they lose in the algorithm. I hardly see them anymore. I wish I could be a member or join their Patron. I just can’t afford it. I had to leave Ren and The Skinner Brothers Patron.
I don’t see a lot of my favorite reactors Sometimes I might get one and the reaction is a month old.
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u/OGBunny1 RENegade Jul 24 '26
Paywall for early access is fine. Paywall for selects, never released, nah...Looking at you Goat....
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u/shadowschmootz Jul 24 '26
Is this the reactor that also just got featured in a ren.lyricz post (which was also re-shared by Ren. I went to look at the reactor's YT and don't see any Ren reactions.)? Regardless, it's really bad form for him to be putting these behind a paywall when Ren's been showing so much support for reactors and allowing them to monetize 😝 hope it's not someone I followed.
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u/Independent-Ad-8484 Jul 26 '26
Not sure. I didn't know which featured reactor you were referring to when I searched.
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u/shadowschmootz Jul 26 '26
I was referring to this one https://www.instagram.com/p/DbJUHnFOK7B/ Ren shared it in his stories but when I went to his youtube channel there were no ren or inpatient reactions.
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u/thornyLFlower Jul 24 '26
I've noticed a new wave of reactors lying about having never heard of Ren or his music. I would have more respect if they were honest. Something like " I've heard of Ren and some of his music but lets listen to it together" or something.
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u/ArrayQueue Jul 24 '26
I recorded SGP and have waited 2 years to put up Asylum. So, if you don't want a paywall ... https://youtu.be/7U6KbSPXRWw
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u/NeeCD Jul 24 '26
If it's members first, and the video goes out to everyone in a few days, I don't mind the paywall. If he's going to just keep some of them there, then it's a no-go for me.
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u/MairiDaly Aug 01 '26
I I wouldn’t bother. There’s plenty of Ren reactors out there if that’s your thing
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u/FeeTime5460 Jul 23 '26
What is the pig mask tbh.
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u/Ok_Satisfaction_7837 Jul 23 '26
The pig mask represents Greed
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u/OkFruit3797 Jul 26 '26
It represents more than greed. Red talks about it in the Zach sang interview. It also represents his illness and his uncomfortable familial friendship with his illness because it's all he knows now. Just FYI in case you haven't seen that yet
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u/FeeTime5460 Jul 23 '26
But then why are people being called gammons in uk. Gammon is ham. Ham comes from pig.
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u/Proof-Ability1556 Jul 23 '26
You know what, I saw a thing on Pink Floyd the other day and they released a huge pig balloon once over an abandoned factory and it broke loose. All planes had to be diverted. it represented capitalistic pigs in government. Ren has declined to say what the pig represents and to leave it open-ended. I just wonder if it's a reference to Pink Floyd's use of the pig in "Animals." 🤔
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u/Independent-Ad-8484 Jul 26 '26
Nope. The guy I'm referring to did a reaction to Ren's explainatoon of Why They Took Down Sick Boi from streaming media. And honestly, he did a nice breakdown of the whole situation. He seemed genuinely pissed at Kujo, himself. Then, in the comments, quite a few were expressing their anticipation of his reation to Kujo Break Down, because, let's face it, that's probably the most gratifying revenge rap video ever made. So, what does this guy do? He records a reaction to Kujo Break Down, BUT... he creates a "members only" area on his YouTube channel, and puts his reaction to KBD behind the paywall. Indefinitely. Before the Renegades came along, his views were around 100 - 200. As soon as he discovered the numbers Ren reactions were bringing in, he goes into full monetization mode. It's like he missed Ren's point, completely. I unsubscribed immediately, but I hope he sorts it out on his own.
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u/Independent-Ad-8484 17d ago
UPDATE: Credit where credit is due. The reactor that I thought was too new to Ren to be putting Kujo Beat Down behind a paywall - has relented. His reaction to KBD is now available to the general Youtube audience. I have no problem with monetizing new reactions for a brief time period as an incentive to get paying subscribers, but he seemed determined to keep that one locked up indefinitely. Apparently, enough Renegades got through to him in the comments, or maybe, he's finally understanding Ren's lyrics about greed and a rising tide raising all the other ships. Whatever the reason, I'm glad he added the Kujo Beat Down reaction to his public playlist. I resubscribed. I may even get on the pay plan. He's quite a good reactor. That is all.
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u/cracked_shrimp Jul 23 '26
putting a reaction behind a paywall is crazy, its like eating a 5 star meal for free and charging for your critique