This is such a weird take. There is 20 years of content on youtube and not just like, unboxing videos or AI generated kid stuff or whatever. Theres family recordings and DIY vids for literally everything, to college courses from like, Yale and Harvard, to vocational videos I use for my job. All of the videos that radicalized me into an Ancom on are youtube. Every song ever recorded, including rare songs like second hand accounts of slave field hymns. Old, obscure movies, especially where the copyright holder doesnt give a fuck, are available for free. Small indie projects, like small groups producing shorts, and small bands making their own music, are on youtube. And yes, millions of hours of people playing video games, or sports high lights, or wrestling high lights, or video essays or whatever, are all on youtube.

The world is the way it is. Do I wish the web was more diversified? I do. Do I wish Alphabet didnt have us over a barrel like this? Of course. But youtube is almost a utility at this point; its like saying dont use the roads bro, eventually they will listen to us and put in light rail tracks. I would love for that to happen but you gotta get to work in the mean time.

Just stop using YT altogether

YT spent the last 15 years stomping out all competition, so now that they have accomplished that, they jack up the rates... (or in this case jack up the ads)

classic capitaism

Just stop using YT altogether.

They should but easy to say than done. In the end they will return back to it if no better or at least equal alternatives are out there to fill the vacuum.

Just stop using YT altogether.

And use what? I'm not on YouTube for YouTube. I'm on YouTube for the content that is often unavailable elsewhere.