I agree, however i do not feel you are speaking of the correct mechanics.
ThemTube made a following by allowing content creators to start making money. And so many tried and a bunch succeeded. The entirety of ThemTube is based on these creators.
ThemTube has already turned off the spigot. The new crop of content creators has been destroyed. With their ad-pocolypse and now their way high bar for getting monetized, the tomorrows stars are not on ThemTube.
So, ThemTube is now just waiting to die.
You are right, I think the same as you. There is no chance to be promoted on yt without putting money on it