Popular YouTuber PewDiePie is looking to strike out on his own

- Popular YouTuber Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg lambasts the current state of YouTube channel networks. As YouTubers become a more powerful force in the game industry, it's worth paying attention to how their business is changing. Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg operates the most popular user-run channel on YouTube, and as his contract with his current network comes to a close he's looking to strike out on his own rather than continue working within a system he says is rife with mismanagement. "It was managed in such a terrible way," Kjellberg said of his previous partner network, Machinima, during an interview with Icon magazine. "During the time I was a member of their network, I grew into the world’s biggest YouTuber – and they didn’t even know I was with them! They didn’t get in touch a single time, except when I wanted to leave – then their CEO e-mailed me once." Kjellberg eventually extricated himself from his contract with Machinima via legal action, then joined up with Maker Studios -- which was later acquired by Disney for $500 million and the promise of another $450 million in performance-based payouts. Maker's contract with Kjellberg comes up for renewal in December, but the YouTuber says he's now more interested in starting his own network with friends. "I’m in touch with a couple of people who I think would be so right for this. I’m eager to get it all up and running," Kjellberg told Icon. "I’d like to help other YouTubers." It's worth reading the full interview with Kjellberg over on Icon's website to learn more about the business realities of being a popular YouTuber -- and what it's like to run a channel that's generating millions in ad revenue from a bedroom in Brighton.