Well, Twitch has done it again. It seems like there’s a new controversy or scandal involving Twitch – arguably the biggest streaming platform in the world – at least once a week. In the latest episode of this grand saga, Twitch has uncovered its all-new ‘Partner Plus’ tier that awards top streamers a 70/30 revenue split, but it comes with all kinds of catches.
Launching on October 1st, the new Partner Plus tier unlocks a higher revenue rate for the platform’s biggest streamers, but only for a certain amount, and there are several hurdles to leap over before that tier can even be achieved. Most recently, Twitch was seen furiously backpedalling after changes were implemented that would have put heavy restrictions on advertising brands on-stream – but those changes were effectively rolled back.
What’s next for Twitch?
Meet The Criteria, Get The Boost
As Twitch rushes to stem the bleeding caused by the rise of Kick – arguably the most scandalous streaming platform to ever emerge – efforts are being made across the board to coerce uses into staying on the site. Partner Plus is the latest attempt to convince users that there’s something worthwhile on the site, even if the platform’s competitors would have you think otherwise.
But there are caveats to this deal.
Firstly, it’s only open to existing partners that are able to maintain at least 350 recurring paid subscriptions over a three month period. Once the 70/30 rate has been applied, it doesn’t matter if the streamer dips below that count – it’s just to get them through the door. Sadly, Amazon Prime subscriptions and gifted subscriptions will not count towards that volume.
Once enrolled, streamers are on the Partner Plus tier for a 12-month period, but the 70/30 split is only applicable to the first $100,000 earned on the site. Following that milestone, the split is once again knocked back down to a 50/50 split.
If you want to get involved, you’ll have to hit the above critera through July, August, and September.
Battle of the Brands
It has been a dire few months for the streaming community at large. From massive controversies to a social media-fuelled battle of the brands between Twitch and Kick, it seems like streaming really isn’t the place to be at the moment.
We’ve got ‘professional’ brands sniping at competitors over social media, reducing themselves to a sense of juvenile banality to besmirch another firm’s name, and it’s being received well because – for the most part – that platform’s community is relatively toxic, money-hungry, and aggressively competitive.
For those looking to learn how to become a streamer, it’s probably the worst time to do so. There is so much upheaval taking place across the community at large, it’s a massively oversaturated market, and there are fresh concerns being raised almost daily that cause uproar across the board.
It’s a fact that there’s still the opportunity to make money as a streamer, but when there’s this much stress involved, is it really worth getting started?