From click millionaire to actual millionaire – nowhere in Europe does that happen as often as in the United Kingdom. There are about 1,500 YouTube stars in the world with more than one million registered fans; one out of ten of those “stars” live and produce their film content in the UK. The person – or the channel – is the brand. In addition to the advertising of products, the YouTuber’s own merchandise is marketed, cookbooks are sold, and/or product placement is executed on a large scale. With several million subscribers it’s a profitable business.

Arte Re: visited London, Birmingham and Liverpool to explore how this multimillion-dollar business works. Who makes it to the top – and how? And what do the fans think when their stars keep presenting product after product?