Dan & Phil Part 14: Is This Tour Over Yet?

[coffee pig]

What worries me is how reluctant they are to open up anymore.They are so utterly controlling over their public image that it's only a matter of time before most of their subscribers find their act a bit stale. At the end of the day their content is personality-based content, the kind of content where you need a genuine connection with your subscribers. I'd let them off the hook if they were filmmakers like PJ, or did comedy stuff like Chris. (They are funny obviously, but from an objective point-of-view they aren't actually comedians.) As much as I hate to say it, if you are so reluctant to show any glimpse of your real, vulnerable self on camera then you should not be a YouTuber at all, really.

[NarrysCanary]

What worries me is how reluctant they are to open up anymore.They are so utterly controlling over their public image that it's only a matter of time before most of their subscribers find their act a bit stale. At the end of the day their content is personality-based content, the kind of content where you need a genuine connection with your subscribers. I'd let them off the hook if they were filmmakers like PJ, or did comedy stuff like Chris. (They are funny obviously, but from an objective point-of-view they aren't actually comedians.) As much as I hate to say it, if you are so reluctant to show any glimpse of your real, vulnerable self on camera then you should not be a YouTuber at all, really.

This as well, it's been bothering a lot lately and I didn't know how to word it properly.

[Catallena]

I find specially remarkable Markiplier's methods: replies in all social networks he's in, often makes videos exclusively to read Youtube comments, has spent +8 hours in Omegle to greet fans, does live shows for charities AND he manages to upload at least one video a day, no matter what.

As much as I love D&P I don't think I'd want this much content from them. Surely there'd be a dip in quality, and even if they managed to maintain quality, I think we'd be over-saturated with content and it would feel less special.

I felt that way about them in 2013/2014, but I can't keep that up anymore. It's always something with these two... Before the book/tour, they used the radio as an excuse. And I still don't really care for upload schedules if the eventual content is good (for example Natalie Tran almost always delivers for me despite often having more than a month in between videos but considering she's not a full time YouTuber anymore she has an excuse) but I'm currently not seeing D&P drop much quality stuff. So imo they currently have no quantity or quality. I don't need a new video everyday or multiple liveshows a week, but I do want them to do better than what they're currently doing.

Like I will never stop being salty about how the gaming channel was abandoned after Christmas 2014. It had such an incredibly promising start, and it could've done wonders for their productivity, subs/views and longevity on the YouTube platform. But they let it go for a damn book and tour. I'm proud of them for those achievements, but it isn't doing shit for them now is it? Yeah ok they make shit ton of money from all that merch and stuff, but old viewers get bored (especially those not interested in the book / going to a show) and it isn't attracting anyone new. They're so lucky to have a somewhat crazily dedicated fanbase who don't lose interest that quickly (though I wonder what their casual subscribers think about their upload schedules, I imagine I'd be like 'oh I'm still subbed to this guy??' whenever a new video popped up in my feed), because any other YouTuber would not get away with how much they've been slacking for the past 1.5 years at all.

Their attitude towards YouTube is just so disappointing. And kinda dumb. Not evolving is standing still, and standing still is going backwards. Plus they're not making artsy short films that require so much time, they're vloggers. Phil borders on Gleam content (but less annoying) most of the time and Dan can choose a video format on how much time he has. A lot of time? Make a sketch video. Not so much time? Make a one take story telling video. Gaming channel? Sit down for a few hours and keep filming. I'm not a gamer and never played Undertale nor do I want to, and although I sometimes find it a bit boring I'm still interested in where the story is going. But there's so much time between their videos that I forget what happened in the last episode, and I feel like they do too which makes them miss out on things? D:

Ideal schedule for me would be main channel videos every two weeks for both of them, gaming channel videos twice a week (one for a series like Undertale, Sims, DvsP or something new and another stand alone video). No schedule for the second channels, but use them for stuff that requires no to minimal editing like random little vlog clips or something. Just start putting in some effort again

[Philena]

I mean, I agree with most of what everyone has posted, but feel like I should try to think about things from D&P's pov. The two of them cannot exist without having everything analyzed to death online; like not only themselves and their current and past actions, but anyone who ever associates with them. I can completely understand them wanting to put some distance between their real life and what they choose to share online. They are in the perfect position right now, in that they are more popular than they've ever been and are making buckets of money while maintaining a healthy amount of personal space between themselves and their followers. Why would they want to change anything? They could probably deal with losing some viewers/popularity in exchange for some privacy. I am assuming they are making some future non-YT plans to make up for whatever financial losses their lack of uploading may cause... I am curious to see what will happen over the next year. They have made nothing but good decisions, from a financial pov, thus far.

[missemma]

I'm sure they work hard by their own standards but their standards are kinda fucked, tbh. If they really are busting ass doing behind the scenes stuff then they should recognize that the content - the backbone of their very fan-oriented career - is suffering and figure out how to hire out some of the grunt work so they can focus more on front end stuff. And if they're already hiring out bts stuff (to some extent, just in terms of letting management handle correspondences and project details) then they really have no excuse. They do have a stressful job, but a lot of people have stressful jobs and still have to get their job done without the freedom to more or less set their own schedule, and get compensated way, way less than deppy for the workload. I just don't have much sympathy for them being too tired/lazy/etc to plan ahead or mismanaging their time.

Agree with everything you posted here. I went away for the weekend expecting to come back to some content but all we got is some desperate phan attempting to 'blackmail' Dan again, I mean that's saying something when that's all we got to discuss #suckstobeus.

I am so late to the party about Dans tweet yesterday. I just wanted to say that Juliet tweeting about people helping out on the merch happens quite regularly, I know they got some full time people in now, but in but at some venues they've recruited even more just for the day. The last show being just a few days ago. I wouldn't assume her now deleted tweet was related to Dans. Much like I wouldn't read into Martyn liking Dans tweet either, he likes loads of Dans tweets. I don't think any of it is related at all.

[NarrysCanary]

I mean, I agree with most of what everyone has posted, but feel like I should try to think about things from D&P's pov. The two of them cannot exist without having everything analyzed to death online; like not only themselves and their current and past actions, but anyone who ever associates with them. I can completely understand them wanting to put some distance between their real life and what they choose to share online. They are in the perfect position right now, in that they are more popular than they've ever been and are making buckets of money while maintaining a healthy amount of personal space between themselves and their followers. Why would they want to change anything? They could probably deal with losing some viewers/popularity in exchange for some privacy. I am assuming they are making some future non-YT plans to make up for whatever financial losses their lack of uploading may cause... I am curious to see what will happen over the next year. They have made nothing but good decisions, from a financial pov, thus far.

I kind of agree but we're not the ones receiving all the money they're making rn, I don't want them to expose themselves to the world or to drop completely their personas but to be a little more open and to upload more regularly

[slytherina]

Thank you, Catallena for that excellent post. You summed up a lot of my own thoughts perfectly

Their upload schelude is what pisses me off the most about them. They could easily upload meaningless videos on their 2nd channels without sticking to their personas at 100%, I don't ask them to vlog their daily lives but vlogging for time to time won't hurt them. Especially when they are touring like right now. And for the gaming channel they could as well upload regularly if they really wanted to but I guess they are just lazy sometimes.

The bolded part. THIS. THIS is all I want from them at this point. I can let the lack of content whilst on the bour slide to some extent, but being on tour is NO excuse for neglecting even their side channels! Hell, if anything the tour gives them the perfect opportunity to regularly update these channels with nonsense fluff videos. They may have said they aren't doing a DITL ( RIP my hopes and dreams), but what excuse do they have, for this, really? No editing or effort required! I mean, Phil's second channel has silly snippets of his hair going static and Dan trying caviar - why not vlog a teeny bit of your tourist-y America adventures for us thirsty fans (not to mention your casual YouTube audiences).

Show us some landmarks you've visited. Show us some wildlife and nature you've encountered. Film Phil eating an entire mountain of pancakes all to himself! SOMETHING.

[jess]

edit : I don't think we'll have more content after the tour either, because they'll go into hibernation for two weeks.

Two weeks? If only we could be so lucky... Dan basically went into hibernation for about 2 months post-UK tour. (side-eye-ing Dan, not you! ) My money's on him being "jet-lagged" for at least a month.

Unpopular opinion: all I need to be happy is (Dan) live shows, gaming videos, & radio shows (or some equivalent).

But then again, I only really got into this whole mess because of the gaming channel/live shows/radio shows to begin with. I have no sentimental attachment to AP or DINOF. I completely understand why people want them to focus on/evolve their channels, but for me, that's just not the content I'm here for (partially because that content is pretty "meh", boring, & stagnant to me). I really miss the radio shows (& the excuse of "well, they're BBC R1 DJs as well... kinda!" ) & I'm desperately hoping they'll do something in that vein once TATINOF concludes.

Jesus, I'm getting negative. I should just go in a corner.

[Philena]

I think it's time we all face the truth. We cannot make demands. The relationship has run its course. They're just not that into us.

[jaej]

i don't even care about weekly videos or strict gaming schedules. there just needs to be a little more, they need to pass the most basic, necessary levels. 2 videos on a main channel a month and about 2 a week on the gaming channel should not be at all difficult for someone with youtube as a full time job and with all the right equipment and stuff - and thats what we see as a pretty good month from them, not the barely-acceptable that it should be. i accept that the tour is hard, but theyre so bad to begin with that it comes off as complete bullshit. 2 main channel videos EACH a month, 2/3 gaming videos a week (AND they should have more solo vids), occasional side channel mini videos is not a high demand at all.

[hunnyftw]

Jesus, I'm getting negative. I should just go in a corner.

No Jess, ALL of you guys got very negative But I really agree with most of you. Your criticism is very constructive today. There's just no other way around it: deppy are slacking and you all explained it perfectly.

I've got a few minor things to nitpick on:

I mean editing could not be that difficult for them, could it ? They don't use special effects or anything .

Have you ever edited? I'm just curious. I have edited quite a bit in my life and let me tell you, it's very time-consuming, even the simplest video can be a pain in the butt. However the editing being long and tedious still doesn't excuse so your point kind of stands but kind of doesn't

I mean, I agree with most of what everyone has posted, but feel like I should try to think about things from D&P's pov. The two of them cannot exist without having everything analyzed to death online; like not only themselves and their current and past actions, but anyone who ever associates with them. I can completely understand them wanting to put some distance between their real life and what they choose to share online.

I command you for being so patient and compassionate for them, but I almost think you're being too nice. I think we're showing a lot of understanding for them but at the end of the day we're not their friends or family, we're their viewers so I think it's only natural that at some point we should actually stop looking at things from their perspective and start thinking about the stuff that we're getting out of this, i.e content. Sorrz, that's life. Also, I don't think anybody here is wishing for them to put less distance between their life and their content. We're not demanding daily vlogs etc. We want good content, be it a main channel video or some good gaming bantz. Don't mean to attack you but I feel you're being slightly too lenient

[NarrysCanary]

[offtopic]

I mean editing could not be that difficult for them, could it ? They don't use special effects or anything .

Have you ever edited? I'm just curious. I have edited quite a bit in my life and let me tell you, it's very time-consuming, even the simplest video can be a pain in the butt. However the editing being long and tedious still doesn't excuse so your point kind of stands but kind of doesn't

No, I've never edited anything in my life so I admit that I spoke without knowing here [/offtopic]

[coffee pig]

I mean, I agree with most of what everyone has posted, but feel like I should try to think about things from D&P's pov. The two of them cannot exist without having everything analyzed to death online; like not only themselves and their current and past actions, but anyone who ever associates with them. I can completely understand them wanting to put some distance between their real life and what they choose to share online. They are in the perfect position right now, in that they are more popular than they've ever been and are making buckets of money while maintaining a healthy amount of personal space between themselves and their followers. Why would they want to change anything? They could probably deal with losing some viewers/popularity in exchange for some privacy. I am assuming they are making some future non-YT plans to make up for whatever financial losses their lack of uploading may cause... I am curious to see what will happen over the next year. They have made nothing but good decisions, from a financial pov, thus far.

I kind of agree but we're not the ones receiving all the money they're making rn, I don't want them to expose themselves to the world or to drop completely their personas but to be a little more open and to upload more regularly

I mean, obviously everything they put online is going to be analyzed to death. They are public figures. But this is hardly unique to them, It happens to other YouTubers and celebrities as well and I think we baby them a little by using that as an excuse. Every big YouTuber is put under the microscope and it doesn't stop other YouTubers from tweeting more casually about their lives or even just voicing a real opinion every once in a while. (And how bad is it what people are saying about them online, really? Yeah, people they think they're a couple, so what. Have you seen the GG threads about velvetgh0st, Trisha Paytas, or even Carrie Hope Fletcher? That shit is brutal. If I was any of them I would want to cry and disappear from the internet forever.)

Not to mention, they chose this. They might not have known that they were going to become this big from the very beginning, but YouTube is still a public platform.They could have stopped making videos at any point if they wanted to step away from the spotlight.

I'm not saying it isn't hard to open up to millions of people. It sounds terrifying to me, but that's also the reason why it's something I would never choose to do. (Actually scratch that, if I could afford Dan's wardrobe from making that YouTube money all my dignity and reserve would probably go out the window, lol.)

[Philena]

I mean, I agree with most of what everyone has posted, but feel like I should try to think about things from D&P's pov. The two of them cannot exist without having everything analyzed to death online; like not only themselves and their current and past actions, but anyone who ever associates with them. I can completely understand them wanting to put some distance between their real life and what they choose to share online.

I command you for being so patient and compassionate for them, but I almost think you're being too nice. I think we're showing a lot of understanding for them but at the end of the day we're not their friends or family, we're their viewers so I think it's only natural that at some point we should actually stop looking at things from their perspective and start thinking about the stuff that we're getting out of this, i.e content. Sorrz, that's life. Also, I don't think anybody here is wishing for them to put less distance between their life and their content. We're not demanding daily vlogs etc. We want good content, be it a main channel video or some good gaming bantz. Don't mean to attack you but I feel you're being slightly too lenient

I wasn't really defending them, per se, more like trying to understand their pov.

For me, this is the most relatable D&P can be. It reminds me of being in school, for example. I would always figure out the bare minimum I could do to get an A. I graduated from grad school with a 3.92 gpa, but not because I went above and beyond. I would never be a pewdiepie, or a jacksepticeye, or a markiplier, when I could be a D&P and make millions with minimal work. But that's just lazy me!

But, yes, as a fan, I'd love to see some content!

[fancybum]

Why are you guys trying to hold them to some kind of scheduling standard they don't appear to have any interest in? It's been a very long time since Dan bothered promising regular (weekly even for awhile there) uploads. And Phil more or less keeps a fairly regular uploading schedule even now, it's just that we're missing the radio/liveshows.

I've finally got it through my head that they're on tour and videos are not the priority. Should they have planned better/pre-filmed more? Probably yes (only because I would have liked it), but they never said they would do that to begin with so what's the point in getting so frustrated that they're not meeting our personal demands/desires? It's exhausting. How many times can we imagine a perfect uploading schedule that they'll never ever adhere to? Not judging, I've done it a few times myself. But the tour is more than half done at this point so clearly nothing will change content-wise until it's over (and then we'll see what happens going forward..).

I've just resigned myself to other entertainment avenues until July; it's not actually that long of a wait. "It's their job": well they're self-employed and make their own schedules, just because other people with the same job are more consistent means less than nothing. Those people are also out-earning D&P on YT, so congrats?

[bee]

I think it's time we all face the truth. We cannot make demands. The relationship has run its course. They're just not that into us.

"It's not you, it's us!" say

"Let's stay friends"

"Bye internet"

sad cactus

[alittledizzy]

Why are you guys trying to hold them to some kind of scheduling standard they don't appear to have any interest in?

Because it's cathartic to us, lol. I'm not actually trying to hold them to a scheduling standard, I'm just pointing out that they don't meet the schedule standards set by other. They are self employed, sure, but they aren't the only people who do the job that they do. We have a basis for comparison. And even self-employed people usually stop making money if they stop delivering the goods or service that they support themselves through offering.

I mean, obviously Dan and Phil aren't hurting for views, audience engagement, or money. But I still think it's okay for fans who are frustrated with their inactivity to vent it out and commiserate with other like-minded fans.

[NarrysCanary]

I think it's time we all face the truth. We cannot make demands. The relationship has run its course. They're just not that into us.

"It's not you, it's us!" say

"Let's stay friends"

"Bye internet"

sad cactus

It'll probably end this way tho

[LurkingTrash]

Why are you guys trying to hold them to some kind of scheduling standard they don't appear to have any interest in?

Because it's cathartic to us, lol. I'm not actually trying to hold them to a scheduling standard, I'm just pointing out that they don't meet the schedule standards set by other. They are self employed, sure, but they aren't the only people who do the job that they do. We have a basis for comparison. And even self-employed people usually stop making money if they stop delivering the goods or service that they support themselves through offering.

I mean, obviously Dan and Phil aren't hurting for views, audience engagement, or money. But I still think it's okay for fans who are frustrated with their inactivity to vent it out and commiserate with other like-minded fans.

We do get very grumpy when we don't have enough to keep us occupied but most of this discussion comes from a place where we love them and want what's best for them in the end. And that means staying relevant, and to stay relevant you have to meet certain standards, and that's putting out more content. We're really not wanting extreme things, and I, at least, see it as ourselves manifesting our worry over their careers but everything coming out of a place of love. (is this even english? sorry I'm in a sappy mood today, I blame the fanfics)

I mean, I agree with most of what everyone has posted, but feel like I should try to think about things from D&P's pov. The two of them cannot exist without having everything analyzed to death online; like not only themselves and their current and past actions, but anyone who ever associates with them. I can completely understand them wanting to put some distance between their real life and what they choose to share online. They are in the perfect position right now, in that they are more popular than they've ever been and are making buckets of money while maintaining a healthy amount of personal space between themselves and their followers. Why would they want to change anything? They could probably deal with losing some viewers/popularity in exchange for some privacy. I am assuming they are making some future non-YT plans to make up for whatever financial losses their lack of uploading may cause... I am curious to see what will happen over the next year. They have made nothing but good decisions, from a financial pov, thus far.

I kind of agree but we're not the ones receiving all the money they're making rn, I don't want them to expose themselves to the world or to drop completely their personas but to be a little more open and to upload more regularly

I mean, obviously everything they put online is going to be analyzed to death. They are public figures. But this is hardly unique to them, It happens to other YouTubers and celebrities as well and I think we baby them a little by using that as an excuse. Every big YouTuber is put under the microscope and it doesn't stop other YouTubers from tweeting more casually about their lives or even just voicing a real opinion every once in a while. (And how bad is it what people are saying about them online, really? Yeah, people they think they're a couple, so what. Have you seen the GG threads about velvetgh0st, Trisha Paytas, or even Carrie Hope Fletcher? That shit is brutal. If I was any of them I would want to cry and disappear from the internet forever.)

Not to mention, they chose this. They might not have known that they were going to become this big from the very beginning, but YouTube is still a public platform.They could have stopped making videos at any point if they wanted to step away from the spotlight.

I'm not saying it isn't hard to open up to millions of people. It sounds terrifying to me, but that's also the reason why it's something I would never choose to do. (Actually scratch that, if I could afford Dan's wardrobe from making that YouTube money all my dignity and reserve would probably go out the window, lol.)

One thing that I want to point out is that everyone analyses everything over the point of healthy because we're bored and their videos are our source of entertainment on youtube (I speak for me here, but I bet that there are a lot of people like me who mostly only care for them and watch any other youtubers just as a casual subscriber) and I can bet a lot on how things would stop being so over-analysed if they did put more content for we to go through.

edit: And I agree with Philena that they always made smart money choices that payed off so in the end it could be that we're the dumb-dumbs that don't really know how this dynamic works but the only way to know is wait and see

[DryCereal]

Been there, done that, cried. (well, swore profusely)
Turns out the boy don't learn:

[SquishPhan]

Been there, done that, cried. (well, swore profusely)
Turns out the boy don't learn:

Phil is now just rehasing old tweets.

[deerly]

I was bitching to my best friend about the content drought the other day and she said it doesn't affect her at all and she said WE ALL KNEW WHAT WE SUBSCRIBED FOR (which made me think there was the terms&conditions page and she read it and ticked the box and I just scrolled past like the lazy shit I am). She just reads fanfics/lurks on idb (hi if you read lol)/tumblr/plays videogames etc. You'll think she's less invested in them but that's not the point, we're at the same level of
I'm envious tbh

Also this may sound like some kind of psychic bullshit but they upload every time she comes to stay the night and she's staying tonight (I'm so desperate I'm really starting to believe it's not a coincedence). So we have some hope..

[Aurdie]

I've got a few minor things to nitpick on:

I mean editing could not be that difficult for them, could it ? They don't use special effects or anything .

Have you ever edited? I'm just curious. I have edited quite a bit in my life and let me tell you, it's very time-consuming, even the simplest video can be a pain in the butt. However the editing being long and tedious still doesn't excuse so your point kind of stands but kind of doesn't

Agree. My kid has her own YouTube gaming channel. A one-hour initial recording may take her father hours to edit, refine, add effects, and upload. And this is for a kid who really doesn't care all that much about how the final product looks. I can only image how long it takes for content creators who actually crave some level of quality. Not an excuse, of course, just agreeing that the editing process can be tedious and loooong.

[whoknows]

Can't wait till Dan realizes Phil just dragged him down and that he shouldn't have dropped out of law school.

[SquishPhan]

Can't wait till Dan realizes Phil just dragged him down and that he shouldn't have dropped out of law school.

Yeah I mean, it's not like Dan is successful at all or anything. Seems like his life is just awful at the moment. Poor Dan.