Ok so here's how YouTube works as I understand it. I'm not big headed enough to call myself an expert... But I threw out my TV in 2011 and began watching YouTube as my main source of TV entertainment (and streaming the odd TV show occasionally). Three ways a youtuber can make money:
- Independent
- Network
- YouTube Partner
Independent
These are the ones that post a load of low quality videos and get paid through adsense showing before or in the video. This is the hardest way to make money, but it's the main way that most successful YouTubers start out.
Network
Networks (such as Revision3) will get people who are struggling to get approved as a YT Partner and want to get their name out. So they sign up to receive a percentage of what the Network makes from their videos. The Network is a YT partner. There are a few low quality Networks that accept a lot of BlackHat/ IM guys, so a Google search will probably bring up some of those.
YouTube Partners
Everyone pretty much knows about this. You make a few great videos. Get a shit ton of subscribers. You should do REALLY well on YT before you apply to be a YT Partner. Sometimes someone from YT will contact you if you are good enough. If not, just make sure you are doing REALLY GOOD and just apply. I think you can only apply once every 3 or so months (or at least it used to be that way) so that's why your channel should be REALLY GOOD before you apply. If you get accepted, they send you the details... Give you a tshirt... Start paying you PER VIEWS!
So that's it. You can definitely make a living from YT. You just have to be ENTERTAINING!
As per the agreement that you will sign when you become a YT Partner, you are NOT allowed to say how much you make. This is basically because they pay different YT Partners different amounts.
TLDR: YouTube makes YT Partners sign an agreement not to share how much each partner makes.