The Fight Over YouTube Stars’ Cash

YouTube stars didn’t need much outside help building their large and passionate online audiences. But there’s a battle underway to help them cash in on their celebrity.

As a growing number of YouTube stars sign deals with TV networks, for movies or for brand endorsement deals, they’re getting caught up in the middle of struggles over who gets a cut of the digital ad pie. In one corner are agents that traditionally served as the entree for talent to the mainstream entertainment industry and in the other, the multichannel networks that nurtured the online stars in the first place.