Once dedicated to gaming, the streaming platform has become an increasingly popular way for musicians to build their fan bases and monetize their work at a time when touring is no longer an option. But will licensing issues slow the company’s momentum?
There are plenty more of those places cropping up on Twitch, with many midtier artists earning around $2,000 per month from the platform, while some prominent DJs can make upwards of five figures in that time frame.
Morris cites one of his company’s success stories as evidence of the platform’s influence. When HIT COMMAND launched a channel for DJ/dubstep producer Subtronics on March 21, 11,500 viewers were watching at one time — “concurrents” in livestreaming terminology — and by the end of the day, the artist had accumulated 14,000 followers and over 400 subscribers.
“It can definitely be another revenue stream” for artists, says Maia, who monetizes her channel through ads and subscriptions. Pestle says that in a typical month, her channel generates anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500. Goggins estimates that getting one artist set up with a high-quality DJ streaming rig — including a CDJ digital music player, microphone, audio interface, webcam, broadcasting PC, green screen and reliable internet — costs between $1,000 and $5,000, though streaming through a laptop or phone is also possible. But the label’s Twitch room has quickly paid for itself, in part through merch marketing. “Just wearing certain stuff on the stream can boost sales,” says Goggins.
Twitch vp original content Justin Dellario says that Twitch also helps artists amplify the impact of their projects on other platforms. On April 23, Travis Scott drew 12.3 million concurrent players in the video gameto the premiere of “Astronomical,” his pretaped in-game performance as an avatar.
In June, a flurry of those notices from the RIAA revealed that Twitch does not have licensing deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music or Warner Music Group or their publishing entities. Industry sources say Twitch is in talks with global performing rights organizations — which collect and distribute public performance royalties — regarding noninteractive audiovisual licenses and already has deals with ASCAP, SESAC and BMI.
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