I've been thinking of setting up a super-tiny (about $15/year) VPS as a youtube-dl proxy for a while now. It's the only Google service that still remains valuable to me; I enjoy channels like Bad Obsession Motorsports and various indie musician channels, and Vimeo just doesn't have enough of that type of content, sadly. I know proxying through a VPS that I pay for doesn't 100% divorce me from Google's watchful eye, but it's enough abstraction that hopefully they don't get enough info to build a profile of the real me.
Several video creators who got their start on Youtube have branched out to making their own platform, Nebula, if you are interested: https://watchnebula.com/
Unfortunately, they won't succeed. The way their homepage is designed suggest that they believe that their reputation and brands are enough to make people subscribe. Why is it not possible to click on a channel image and have a sneak preview? Their landing page is only good for people who already made the decision to join, not to attract new viewers. In other words, they rely on youtube to expand their audience.
They aren't doomed offhandedly, plenty of original content streaming platforms make money. However they won't help with people getting crushed by YouTube; I can't just create an account and start uploading to their HBO/Netflix analog.
