21 STREAMPUNK Live Music
IT’S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT ARTISTS GET THEIR SET-UP RIGHT BEFORE GOING LIVE
add a lot more. Fans can also tip in micro amounts with things like Cheers.” Monetisation tools on Twitch are only available to Twitch Affiliates, a status that is dependent on a number of factors, such as having at least 50 followers and an average of three concurrent viewers or more over the last 30 days. But, in the wake of Covid-19, concert notification service Bandsintown partnered with Twitch to let artists bypass the normal qualifications needed to become a Twitch Affiliate and get fast access to the service’s moneymaking features. Twitch also gives artists the option to direct their fans to another artist’s stream once their show has finished; they can also let other artists use their channel to access their fans while they’re not live. But it seems newcomers aren’t familiar with these rules. Ducky says: “Some artists are bringing tens of thousands of viewers with them to the platform, and that’s dope! But maybe when they’re done, it would be nice if they directed their fans to a smaller artist’s stream. It’s the same as bringing a smaller artist on tour with you – except, this literally costs nothing and takes no effort.” SOLIDARITY SESSIONS Artists who are most successful with live streaming technology use it often. Ducky comes from a tech background and has recently been lending her tech know- how to artists learning how to stream on Twitch. She says: “It’s extremely important that artists get their set-up right before going live. I’m seeing some artists go live well before they’re ready and it might work for them once or twice, because they’re bringing in fans from the outside world, but it’s not going to motivate fans to stick around and subscribe.” Singer-songwriter Clare Means spent over a year livestreaming her busking on Periscope, and at one point made $1400 dollars in digital tips from a one-hour performance. Many indie electronic artists like Hana and JVNA have been livestreaming on Twitch at least once a week for several months now, answering
questions from fans and lifting the veil on their recording process. “Artists aren’t realising how much work goes into creating an engaging stream and maintaining it, and I think a lot of them will burn out. There will be some that will take to it, love it and keep it going. I think it will just continue to grow as a world that people have discovered and are still discovering, even as real-life shows start to come back. People will think, ‘I can see my favourite artist from my bedroom tonight – maybe I’ll stay in and do that and chat to my friends,’” reflects Ducky. The friendships and the community that Twitch provides is the driving force behind the platform. Building a compelling live streaming experience isn’t just about making an online carbon copy of a bricks- and-mortar concert: it’s about recreating the emotions people feel when they go out. From the fan’s perspective, the stage in a live stream is just their screen, and the audience is the chat room. There’s a diminished sense of hierarchy between the artist and the fan, leading to interactions that can be much more social and interactive. Ducky says: “In some ways, it’s easier to meet fans, because you have the chat room. There are no awkward approaches from fans at a show or talking over the music. We have a Discord, too, with a special channel for subscribers. So, there’s a lot of community building going on; a lot of socialising, people making new friends and hanging out. It’s not the same feeling as your chest rattling from the subs, getting lost in the crowd, all that – it’s a different energy,” she concludes, before adding: “But it’s really special.”
income generated through ad revenue. The amount of profit relies heavily on the amount of advertising and number of viewers – videos under ten minutes make, on average, $2 dollars for every 1000 views. Twitch, on the other hand, works on a subscription basis, where fans pay set fees to access streams. Ducky says: “Twitch supports different tiers of subscriptions and donations. Subscribers give you monthly payments and, in exchange, you offer them increased benefits – what these are is up to the artist, fans can receive badges and emotes that are built into the platform, but you can use extensions to
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