# Benny Bunny — YouTube Kids Channel Master Plan
*Owner: Barry · Producer: Sage (tc2) · Created: 2026-09-06*

Goal: a monetized kids' nursery-rhyme Shorts channel, fully AI-produced (Claude writes, OpenArt renders, Sage assembles), with Barry doing only the human-verification steps.

## Phase 0 — Account setup (Barry, ~30 min, one time)
1. Create a NEW Google account for the channel (keeps it separate from personal; use a dedicated recovery email + phone).
2. On youtube.com signed into that account: create a **Brand Channel** ("Benny Bunny — Nursery Rhymes & Songs").
3. Channel settings: audience = "Yes, made for kids" (channel-level), country, and enable 2FA.
4. Add Sage's access path: share channel credentials into the Mac-only personal vault (NOT the shared brain), or add a manager account later.
5. Verify the account by phone → unlocks custom thumbnails + >15 min uploads.

## Phase 1 — Branding (Sage, day 1)
- Channel avatar + banner generated from Benny reference image (assets/character/).
- Channel description + trailer (can reuse ep001).
- Consistent title format: "Benny Bunny — [Song Name] 🐰 | Nursery Rhymes for Kids".

## Phase 2 — Production pipeline (Sage, proven 2026-09-06)
Per episode (~630 credits ≈ $3-4 at Plus-plan rates, ~20 min wall time):
1. Write original rhyme (Claude — AABB, 4-8 words/line, copyable action per verse).
2. 3 keyframes via Nano Banana 2 Lite + character reference (15 cr each).
3. 3× 8s Veo 3.1 image2video clips w/ sung audio (144 cr each).
4. ffmpeg stitch → 24s vertical Short → final/.
5. Barry reviews on Telegram → approves → upload.

## Phase 3 — Publishing cadence
- 3 Shorts/week minimum (algorithm rewards consistency over volume).
- Every video marked "made for kids" (COPPA — this is legally required, not optional).
- Titles/descriptions keyword-loaded: "nursery rhymes", "kids songs", "toddler learning".
- Each Short: hook in first 2s, loopable ending (rewatch = the ranking signal).

## Phase 4 — Monetization path (realistic numbers)
- **YPP entry (early access, fan funding only)**: 500 subs + 3 uploads in 90 days + (3M public Shorts views in 90 days OR 3,000 watch hours in 12 mo); **full ads**: 1,000 subs + 10M public Shorts views in 90 days (OR 4,000 long-form watch hours). *(Corrected 2026-09-06: early-access also requires the 3M-views/3,000-hr leg, not just 3 uploads.)*
- ⚠️ **Feb 1, 2027**: thresholds double for new applicants (20M Shorts views / 8,000 watch hours). Channel must clear YPP during 2026. *(Added 2026-09-06 from dept research.)*
- ⚠️ "Made for kids" = no personalized ads → RPM roughly $0.02–0.10 per 1k Shorts views (2025-26 data: general Shorts avg $0.03–0.07, MFK sits at the low end). 10M views ≈ $200–1,000. This is a VOLUME game. *(Corrected 2026-09-06 from $0.05–0.15 / $500–1,500 — dept research.)*
- Bigger money is downstream: compilation long-forms (higher RPM), Spotify/Apple kids' music distribution, licensing, merch once the character has traction.
- ⚠️ YouTube's inauthentic-content policy demonetizes mass AI spam. Our defense: original character, original rhymes, storyboarded production — quality over flood. Cap at 3-5/week.

## 90-day milestones
- Day 7: channel live, 3 episodes up.
- Day 30: 12 episodes, first analytics review (which rhymes/actions get rewatched).
- Day 60: double down on winning format; first compilation long-form.
- Day 90: YPP application if thresholds met; go/no-go review on economics.

## Division of labor
- **Barry**: account creation (Phase 0), final approval per video, anything requiring a human (phone verify, YPP forms, AdSense).
- **Sage**: everything else — writing, generating, stitching, upload prep, analytics tracking, this folder.

## Episode log
- ep001-sunny-day — "Benny Bunny's Sunny Day" — produced 2026-09-06, pre-channel test. Storyboard + clips in episodes/ep001-sunny-day/.