--- description: Pitched effort to stop competitors from poaching talent title: YouTube Fears Star Defection, Offers Bonuses and Exclusivity Contracts image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt298af5f59fe5fca6/69876d4af887dc2c93e88dd5/screen-shot-2014-12-08-at-9-08-11-am.png?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Technology](/tag/technology/) ## Technology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # YouTube Reportedly Paying Big Money to Keep Top Stars by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 8, 2014 2:43 PM CUT  YouTube by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 8, 2014 2:43 PM CUT YouTube is offering its celebrities bonuses in exchange for multi-year exclusivity contracts, [according to a new report](http://www.wsj.com/articles/youtube-offering-its-stars-bonuses-1417994309 "undefined"), amid fears that some of its biggest stars will be lured away by competing video platforms. The _Wall Street Journal_, citing unnamed sources, reports that YouTube has “been in a fire drill” in recent weeks to prevent its stars from defecting to competitors like Facebook and Vessel. YouTube stars say competing offers have been “incredibly attractive.” [Read more at the _Wall Street Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/youtube-offering-its-stars-bonuses-1417994309 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3623218/youtube-facebook-vessel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3623218/youtube-facebook-vessel/"},"headline":"YouTube Reportedly Paying Big Money to Keep Top Stars","datePublished":"2014-12-08T14:43:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:39:02.414Z","description":"Pitched effort to stop competitors from poaching talent","url":"https://time.com/3623218/youtube-facebook-vessel/","keywords":["Technology","Business topic","YouTube","video","startup"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt298af5f59fe5fca6/69876d4af887dc2c93e88dd5/screen-shot-2014-12-08-at-9-08-11-am.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt298af5f59fe5fca6/69876d4af887dc2c93e88dd5/screen-shot-2014-12-08-at-9-08-11-am.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"YouTube","caption":"","creditText":"YouTube","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/technology/","name":"Technology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3623218/youtube-facebook-vessel/","name":"YouTube Reportedly Paying Big Money to Keep Top Stars"}}]}] ```