YouTube Algorythm – Working Against You? The Truth About 2026 Changes
Many are complaining about a huge dip in views and revenue, but this is dues to the algorthymic changes in 2026. What are those changes and what can you do about it?
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DISCLAIMER: This video features materials protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Clips are used with commentary for educational purposes.
#youtubechannel #youtubealgorithm #youtubers
@classicalbum
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Do feel the algorythym changes in 2026 have improved things for your channel? Or has it become very sluggish…. What are your thoughts on this?
@stephpride9374
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Someone in my car yesterday went on a rant about how Gen Xers are the only people who question everything they see and hear, as well as a lot of other conspiracy theory bullsh!t, and TODAY YouTube is recommending me a toxic cocktail of GenX related content as well as a bunch of Right Wing conspiracy theory related BULLSH!T videos.
They will never admit to this, of course, but everything you say near your smart [???] device is being heard and analysed , some might say weaponised, against you!
Forget the "algorithm"- Al Gore [or Tipper Gore, for that matter] never had any rhythm anyway!
@Hmmm4688
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
So it’s true, they really pick who’s popular?
@Edwardtrueblood-q8p
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Use thumbnails like, show Geddy Lee on a respirator with Alex Lifeson on the bottom pointing with the words "He is a piece of sh^t! ,do that it helps.
@timhewtson6212
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
As a viewer, I find that if I click on one video from a topic I haven't shown much interest in, I then get inundated with 10 videos on the same topic I'm not much interested in. Conversely, sites I have subscribed to, and where I've watched many videos, don't get presented to me at all if I haven't been there for say 2 months.
Obviously, YouTube thinks site fatigue is a thing, or that if I am really interested, I'll search for old favorites, but what I am actually finding is that I am being presented with videos in very narrow fields that are becoming less and less interesting.
If YouTube is micro-focusing, for me at least it is failing to serve my interests which are broad rather than narrow.
@rabarebra
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Algorithm. Algorithmic. Not: Algorythm, or algorythmic. YouTube won't punish you for complaining about their algorithm – if this was intended for wordplay to "hide" the video for YT.
@TheTristanmarcus
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
I like the pun – algorythm instead of algorithm. Very droll on a music channel 😂
@Joseph-o7k
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Love your channel. Hang in there. 😎
@MikeBracewell
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
This overspecivity must be bad for YTs business, I'd have thought? for it's continued existance, It needs to cull as much advertising revenue from as wide an audience as possible while providing a rich market for content creators to flourish in. All this AI crap is doing is stifling both. If this carries on, content creators will either give up & get a day job or move to other platforms. Hopefully the YT wonks will cotton on, but with all their investment in AI, it won't be anytime soon. Another issue, is AI slop. The channels that pump this bollocks out are sucking up subscribers & tainting the YT brand. I'm on YT less nowadays myself because there is so much rubbish on here now. Quality channels, like yours are getting drowned out in sea of AI shit so it's not surprising good channels are struggling. Again not a great situation for YTs revenue streams. Maybe we're witnessing the beginning of YT's decline? Very probably.
@FionaBlackwoodOfficial
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
I saw this video from one of those insufferable YouTube gurus, and this may be complete rubbish, but he claimed that the recommendation algorithm no longer gives much advantage to established large channels, in terms of impressions. They'll test the videos initially with a cold audience, and if you're unlucky and the cold audience of your video suggestions consists of fans of Ed Sheeran or Mongolian Monks collecting dirt etc, (true story, or close anyway), then it just kills the test and the impressions die. So, in a way whatever good faith you've built over the years of sterling work, has partially gone out the window. Naturally, if all that is accurate, the more loyal your viewer and subscriber base is, the less of a hit you'll take.
@talesfromthehutandhangar
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Great breakdown of YouTube fuckery Barry.
@michaelsteven1090
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Well I hope likes help..I always give you one.
@runarkarlsen9772
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
The algorhythm is getting tighter. Often i see no updates, just the same vids when i update a yt page in the evening. Nothing new during a whole day? I rather have something irrelevant in my feed than this straitjacket of a algorhythm.
@mcvideo5909
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Maybe content creators are discovering what it was like for bands to be popular one week and forgotten the next.
@Guvnarides
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Personally I find a collection of generic clips that can be purchased then pasted together in the name of providing content a huge turn off. Much prefer when you talk to the camera to make a point. 🍻
@adyhartmusic
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
During your (excellent) video I was bombarded by adverts for chicken mcnuggets and an AI platform – which probably tells you all you need to know. 🫤
Glad I found your channel before all this fuckaboutery 😐
@anthonyscully2998
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Your key demographic is over fifties rockers… and we are dying off
@VinylPursuit78
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
I really appreciate your clarification on this.
As a long time viewer of your channel and fellow YouTuber who’s noticed a sudden decline in views and subs recently, this reassures that I’m not alone.
@garethporter1554
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
I’ve noticed the downturn of videos recommended to me. That bloke you clipped who constantly tells his viewers their life is shit seems to do well though.
@GatewayPro
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Videos about how YouTube is squashing videos are the first videos that YouTube squashes
@scalarwave-i7b
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Corporate Greed and Bots running the show…Y T was miles better before all the
A i Bollox 😱
@breakingbadheisenberg9703
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
That's why I always hype your channel, tired of seeing my favorite content being hidden !
@garethporter1554
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
It’s like the gold rush. As more people rush in everyone gets less. It gets harder to stand out. One thing I’ve noticed is if I click on a video no matter how I’m not into it they pump loads of videos like it, while my favourite channels don’t get recommended.
@AubreyStJohn3000
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Interesting times. As a viewer I've noticed most of the channels I'm subscribed to, fail to notify me when new content is up. Not the fault of the channel but rather something that YT is meddling with? I wonder if there is an optimal number of channel subscriptions before the algorithm starts to become ' watered down' resulting in fewer alerts. Hopefully the forthcoming changes are for the better. Personally I'd like to see the whole interface revised. Keep up the good work. Always a good casual watch. Cheers.
@richardgraham7055
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Stop looking for validation
from corporate monsters
only interested in greed
& narcissistic appeal.
Social media isn't a subsititute for friends.
@craiggallie7459
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Love your channel. Always watch when interested. Love your witty comments. 10-15 years older than you. Love your take on prog rock.
@TheProgCorner
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
YouTube is getting harder but the stars always find a way to shine!!!
@48musicfan
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
I’m still here and I love it!
@Kuesel68
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
Thanks for bringing this on! I only have a mini music channel with my songs (and another one with my duet) but since a few months I hardly get traffic anymore even though I changed nothing to tickle the algorythm. Friends of mine suffer from the same problem.
@Sveinbeard
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
If Youtube change the algorithm so that a video attracts less viewers, doesn't that defeat the object of advertising?
@flemmingerikcarlson7022
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
I love your channel Barry! As long as you have it, I’ll keep watching you! ✌️&❤️
@Artimusique
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
We pick and choose what interests us. Subject, theme, personality, etc. Bombarded by aimless content, long dry unedited maunderings of inanity and underwhelming viewpoints, AI-slop slathered over so much from thumbnail to content to underpinnings which drive the mighty algorithm. YT could implement a kind of library, a list of subjects and topics we could peruse at will. Instead, we get whatever the algorithm populates in its disaffected engagement. YT has no human face associated with it, no humans to contact, no actual people behind the torn green curtain continuously being obscured by wizardly smoke up our asses.
@NicholasSadlier
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
I suppose this all means the onus is on us subscribers to assist by organically sharing the videos as far and wide as possible, especially within large like-minded groups?
@billbez7465
August 1, 2026 at 5:36 am
I suspect that viewers who subscribe to YouTube Premium have the most influence on the algorithm. This represent direct payment from the viewer to YT/Alphabet.
Comments are closed.