- New monetization policies might be the reason some big streamers are leaving Twitch
- Former Twitch employees have insightful news on the matter
- Some big names share their thoughts
The platform might have changed its monetization deals with streamers which could have caused the loss of big names such as TimTheTatman and Dr Lupo.
Streamers Leave Twitch Because of New Policies
It came as a big surprise to everyone as last month popular streamer TimTheTatman quit Twitch in favor of YouTube Gaming, shortly after Dr Lupo did the same a few days prior. New information has surfaced that this may be because of intentional changes in the way the platform pays streamers.
Some former Twitch employees, who have chosen to remain anonymous, have come forward in an interview for The Washington Post and stated that big names have been moving away from the streaming site due to said changes. It seems the company has started offering creators less money for the same amount of work, with some people in the streaming industry, familiar with Twitch’s contracts, saying that Dr Lupo in particular was “lowballed”.
Two years ago, big names Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Michael “shroud” Grzesiek left Twitch for exclusive deals with Mixer, Microsoft’s now-defunct streaming platform. This prompted Twitch to try and keep its remaining large streamers with better deals. Last year, however, Mixer went under and Ninja and shroud came back to Twitch. The platform now had more leverage than the streamers to offer new deals.
The Economics of Twitch
One former anonymous Twitch employee said that the public does not really understand how the company works in terms of its economics.
They explain that a lot of the time a streamer is being paid a large amount of because of branding. “The commerce business on big channels tends to flatline at some point, and streamers don’t want to play ads — when that’s Twitch’s big upside potential,” they said.
Apart from paid subscriptions and stream donations, streamers can also get paid from Twitch if they approach these minimums of time broadcast and ads. Attorney Ryan Morrison, who runs Evolved, a talent agency representing stars such as Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel, said that Twitch is offering fewer contracts, and the ones they do are worth less than those that came before. He also added that the contract money is even worse outside of the USA.
For Lupo, the new policies hit a bit closer to home, as he felt he could not spend enough time with his family. He said in another Washington Post interview that he would have had to stream for a comparable amount of hours monthly, but for less pay. So far Twitch, YouTube, and the streamers have not commented on any of this.
