This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply. Ben Sisario, writing for the New York Times: Twitch, by contrast, is an alternate universe where even niche artists can make thousands of dollars a month by cultivating fan tribes whose loyalty is expressed through patronage. With its interactive chat threads and internal economy of channel subscriptions and “bits” (donations), Twitch would seem to fulfill the long-hyped but elusive promise of creative commerce on the internet. Yet the platform may work well for only some kinds of artists. (It is enormously labor-intensive.) Its relationship with rights holders is strained. And though it got a boost during the pandemic, Twitch may soon face a reckoning once artists and their fans emerge from their cocoons and return to in-person events. more Not all embedded content is displayed here. You can view the original to see embedded videos, tweets, etc.
This headline reminded me- You know, believe it or not, Emery has really seemed to adapt to making money as a band in the 21st century. They've streamed on twitch for over a year now, have their own subscriber-only website and discord, made an exclusive crypto-currency for themselves on rally, repressed live and re-imagined recordings on vinyl for direct revenue without sharing the income with a label, and direct-to-the-band tickets sales for house shows and such. They have their niche fanbase which seems to have stuck it out with them and continue to support on a consistent basis. I'm on the fringes of emeryland, but from what i see i am very impressed how they've managed to stay somewhat relevant and still generate enough of an income to all earn a living for each of them (from what i assume is mainly through the band)...
Funny... I started streaming seriously on Twitch because of the pandemic and actually celebrated my one year of being an affiliate yesterday. Unfortunately I haven't made enough money to cash out yet. However, I'm sure these artists could do really well. Especially the established ones.
Nothing, Nowhere. has had a really awesome Twitch presence over the past year or so, and whenever he streams viewers will flood with donations. He's done watch parties of music videos before they go live on YouTube and stuff like that. Definitely a cool way to connect with listeners and more artists should try to take advantage of it.
it's crazy watching anthony green play acoustic songs on twitch, and donations ranging from $5-50 each popping up every minute or two!