My questions include whether or not creators can choose to distribute downloads with or without digital rights management; whether YouTube will handle the stocking and shipping of DVDs (unlikely); and beyond that, if creators will be able to leverage YouTube and tools like Google Checkout to sell other "merch" related to projects. But even better tools for leading traffic from videos to creator's web sites would be welcome. More details from the press release at NewTeeVee and Silicon Alley Insider.

Repeat after me: REVENUE IS NOT PROFIT. And Revver is competing in a sea of also-rans. VuMe and Metacafe also have producer reward programs, and DailyMotion and YouTube are about to launch their own programs. Lots of sites are about to start competing for the few uploads that will have money-making potential.

And it turns out that $1 million, impressive as it sounds, is not so great if you're a video producer, either. Since 25,000 producers have received some form of payout — making the average payout $40 total, as onlinevideoinsider points out in the comments — you are not talking about a living wage... more like a thank you for the traffic. Thousands more have not qualified for the minimum $20 payout yet. Success stories like Eepybird, the wacky "scientists" behind the Diet-Pepsi/Mentos videos, and Tim Street, producer of the salacious French maid TV, who are making a living wage from revenue-sharing are few and far between.

Until more producers can make more money from residuals, ad revenue sharing is just a gimmick. And until YouTube enters the game, Revver is just an experiment trying to reverse a year of bad news with a seemingly positive press release.