After a year of sharing my creative process on twitch, I’ve decided to stop streaming as frequently. I hope to still occasionally do so, but I’m moving away from the 3-times-a-week schedule I’ve maintained. Perhaps the biggest issue with streaming is the general uncertainty around what constitutes as a successful creative stream. What are the benefits? Most people I know who’ve given it a shot leave without having gained business, a following, or any money. Many people have suggested I stream after work hours, but is working past 5 what’s required to become successful? And again, what is a successful creative stream?
Many, including twitch themselves, point to partnership as being an end goal; allowing users to subscribe to your stream for $4.99/mo (of which twitch takes 50%). Partnership’s the carrot on a stick Twitch dangles in front of broadcasters, but the stated requirements for becoming a partner are far out of reach for nearly all creative streamers. Twitch requires an average viewer count of 500+, and 3 streams a week. Right now, at 7PM on a Thursday night, the most viewed gaming stream has 28,000 viewers. The most viewed creative stream has 512. That is, by the way, the only creative stream above 500, but some streams with as few as 40 viewers are also partnered. A viewer count of 40 is likely justified by the streamer having 16,000 followers, but here I am, falling into the trap of discussing numbers that don’t mean anything. Twitch’s requirements reveal underlying philosophy that popularity is the primary indication of quality, and that popular efforts are the only efforts worthy of financial support. In an age of followers equating success, it’s not a surprising philosophy, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing.
The requirements for becoming a partner were why I scheduled 3 streams a week, but after a year of effort, a twitch partnership seems no closer than it was when I began. And with a concurrent viewer count of 500+ even farther away, I’ve decided to stop pursuing a partnership that will likely never manifest. To everyone who has donated in the past year, thank you! And thanks to everyone who has stopped by the stream and hung out. You are what made it great. There were many high points in the stream: general support, people helping others to find jobs, bonding over Star Wars, and reassuring each other as we dealt with our own trials and tribulations. I hope you all learned half as much from the stream as I learned from all of you.
2087
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