You SHOULD "copy" videos on YouTube. Oh boy, let me explain... I saw this video on YouTube and shared it around the channels I work with and had some great discussions. I'll just tell you the truth now, almost every single channel at the top is watching what other channels are doing and trying to emulate that success. You don't have to like that or agree, but keep reading to see why probably most of your favorite channels are doing this (even if it seems they aren't). So should we "**copy**"? Short answer, no. Long answer, yes. Should we copy and paste, as Colin and Samir put it? Easy, no. If you are stealing word-for-word someone's video, recreating a 1:1 scale of someone's thumbnail, or doing anything where you are doing the EXACT same - you are doing it wrong. We have even sent copyright claims and strikes to channels that have copied my channels 1:1 many times. Stealing is bad, moving on. I know it's popular and easy to say "Hey, this thumbnail looks like that thumbnail so that's bad!" I get it. It can be frustrating to put work into something and have someone take it. I've been there many times myself. Now for the long answer. It may not be pretty but it's not only how YouTube works, it is how our entire world and culture work to an extent. I'll just put the truth out here now and then tell you why, even against popular/low-hanging-fruit opinions: You are making a terrible decision if you are NOT emulating, reimagining, and innovating on success from others. So what do we do with this gray area in content creation? You didn't 1:1 steal but your work does kind of look similar to someone else's? Prob better examples out there but think Wendy's fast food restaurant. Mcdonald's in 1955 said we're going to make burgers, offer them with fries, have ice cream, and serve food quickly. Also, we like the color red and yellow. Wendy's in 1969 said, actually we're going to make burgers and fries as well but let's make the burgers square. We'll serve ice cream as well but we'll call it a Frosty. And you know what, we like the color red and yellow, too. So, are they the same? Has anybody ever called Wendy’s a thief? Either way, Wendy's is now worth nearly $5 billion. What about the phones we use? Your iPhone makes calls, uses apps, takes pictures, etc. My Zfold 3 or whatever it's called makes calls, apps, pics, etc. Are they the same? Did Samsung copy Apple? Do we need to shut Samsung down for being a thief? Cars? Computers? Clothing? What is copying and what is emulating? Is it just inspiration? Is it just “smart business decisions”? If Adidas sees that Nike is selling a ton of yoga pants, should Adidas also try to develop a similar product that they too can sell? Of course they should. Again, that would be a terrible business decision to see what people are *wanting* and NOT try to also fulfill that need. Not only should YouTubers look at other channels, observe outliers, emulate success, and recognize successful patterns - it would be, well, dumb to not do this. There are two big parts to this: 1) Risk minimization: being "original" (which never really is because we are always inspired by others before us) is inherently risky. Be original but be willing to strike out more. That's up to you and your goals. 2) And then the big one: When we see other videos with big views and choose NOT to emulate them… we are actively choosing to NOT give an audience what they want. Again, that's a choice we make as creators. In the end, views = audience wants/needs. If a video, concept, or trend has many views, creators should be trying to also supply that to an audience that is waiting for more. So watch trends, observe patterns, emulate successful ideas from others and innovate. Take someone's good idea and make it even better. Add a creative twist. But, obviously, do not steal. S/o to Colin and Samir and I hope we can have an honest discussion. "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."