UPDATE: it's looking more and more like the only thing that changed was the notification style, not the policy. These videos were already demonetized, just silently.(https://medium.com/internet-creators-guild/youtube-de-monetization-explained-44464f902a22#.q4npv7iyi)
They also still get YouTube Red revenue.
RE: Censorship On YouTube Creates An Unique Opportunity For Decentralized Platforms Like Steemit to Create An Alternative Video Platform