$2 isn't really the incentive to have a youtube channel though. People enjoy making something and sharing it with the world. Most people who do X as a hobby don't make even $2 for almost all X: art, music, fishing, whatever, and yet they still do it.
You usually have to go up to "serious amateur" level before you make even token amounts of money (which still doesn't cover your tools much less your time), and 1k subscribers for a video hobbiest is a low bar for that.
You usually have to go up to "serious amateur" level before you make even token amounts of money (which still doesn't cover your tools much less your time), and 1k subscribers for a video hobbiest is a low bar for that.