Hipset (YC S12) Unveils YouTube Network in Partnership with Tyga, Soulja Boy
techcrunch.com
techcrunch.com
Ugh. Attempting to force me to subscribe to a youtube channel or do anything "social" before I can view a video is repulsive, and will guarantee that I will not give that artist any of my attention or money.
Base your business model on that if you want, but recognize that you are offending some potential viewers / eyeballs (obviously, your customers are the celebrities paying you, not the fans). I hope you track the viewers who make it to the "you have to sign up/like/friend/follow/etc" page and go no further, AND make those numbers available to your customers so they can see how many (possible) fans their desire to use that "feature" is turning away.
When we created our virtual currency that users earn for taking actions like these, we consciously decided not to make it a "Like-gate", but instead to give you credits anytime you do these things, and then you can spend them at your convenience. It may result in fewer fans, but they'll be far more qualified as someone who heard you and liked you enough to engage, as opposed to engaged in order to hear you, and then later blocks your posts in their Newsfeed.
Some problems are just more solvable than others.