>*The profit motive is showing its true colors. It'd be a very tough argument to claim that "YouTube Red" is playing a vital role in Google's attempt to organize the world's data.

YouTube Red seems less like a "profit grab" and more like a defensive move. I'm sure Google would love to continue its current model of 50% of all ad revenue. From what I've gathered its (1) Google's top creators exploring other options such as Vessel (subscription music service) and (2) YouTube's need to provide a regular/more predictable revenue stream to their partners. The Ad model doesn't seem to work well if your most of your viewers are outside the United States.