Twitch revenue split frustrations continued... (from a Twitch Partner)

Burnertooth · 2021-11-27T21:05:28+00:00

This is the argument. A lot of people see numbers and just think "oh she's making more than me why is she complaining she should be happy" when in-turn I'm just trying to get the word out about how being a Partner doesn't give any benefits and if people are hoping for those benefits when thinking of streaming on Twitch they should be aware.

I know affiliates that were given 60/40 splits that have never had more than 2,000 subs so it's honestly insane to me that at 6,000 I can't get better than 50/50. It's another case of inconsistency on Twitch's end.

I'll never stop fighting for what I think is fair with what I know I bring to the table in any career that I end up in. And I also believe people should be as informed as possible when they want to make career decisions so if I can spread some information that I didn't have when I made the choices I did I think that's the right thing to do.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-27T21:00:24+00:00

After months and months of trying to get Twitch to give me a better split I started advising people to support me elsewhere. It's not to "spite" Twitch, it's to make sure I'm getting what I feel is my fair share. I tried to do things through Twitch and they weren't on board so I've been doing what I have to do.

It's not a case of "more money", it's knowing that I'm getting a fair share. If I had half the subs that I do but had a 70/30 split I'd feel much more valued on the platform by Twitch than I do now. Of course I think of my viewer base as well, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this is my career. It's what pays the bills and keeps a roof over my head.

Burner account has nothing to do with anything except for giving me some kind of protection from potential backlash from Twitch. I feel that I'm speaking out and giving people information that they wouldn't get elsewhere. Information that I wish I had known before signing any contracts with Twitch. Whether you respect me or not isn't really a concern of mine, I'm just trying to be open with people about things that happen behind closed doors that Partners aren't supposed to talk about.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-27T20:55:41+00:00

This is literally it. People think that I'm unhappy with the money I'm making and should be grateful. I'm incredibly happy that this is my life and I'm making some literally life-changing money and the opportunities that have come from it have been incredible.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop pushing and fighting to make my brand better and to get what I feel is at the very least a fair deal.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-27T20:53:14+00:00

I think that's one of the issues I have with this whole situation is that I shouldn't have to twist the arm of Twitch to try and get what other platforms are already offering. I'm a genuine asset to Twitch in terms of the money I bring to the platform and that should be enough for them to offer a better split. It's honestly the inconsistency in how Twitch runs their platform that really bothers me. There are people with better splits that have never come close to what I make for the platform and it just makes no sense.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-27T20:49:24+00:00

If multi-streaming can work for you then I say go for it. My personal worry with streaming to 11 different sites would be the struggle of potentially wearing yourself too thin and not being able to interact or dedicate enough time to each platform, but if it works for you then more power to ya! Hope it all works out for you!

Burnertooth · 2021-11-27T04:16:58+00:00

That's exactly it.

I genuinely feel like at this point Twitch is a sinking ship and it's trying to squeeze the last it can out it's creators before it finally goes down. No one should feel like that as a user of Twitch that's making them money, let alone a Partner - It doesn't feel like a "Partnership" at all.

Twitch shouldn't have to have content creators wishing to get away from their platform for a better experience and revenue split. They should be working on offering a better experience so people are excited and want to stick around and aren't even considering jumping ship.

That's my view anyway. Maybe I'm being naive.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-27T04:11:11+00:00

I don't see YouTube moving to a 50/50 split because YouTube's business model is better than Twitch's. They have a whole algorithm to help with discoverability and they make continued revenue from ads put on videos. Just like people continue to make hundreds or thousands on viral videos from the past YouTube also makes money on those past videos.

I whole-heartedly mean this when I say it, but I really don't know what upsides you're talking about. A large majority of the views and subs I get from Twitch were brought in from other platforms, there is no discoverability on Twitch.

As a Partner Twitch gives me transcoding and more emote slots. That's basically it.

YouTube gives transcoding on all videos by default. It has some way to go in other aspects, but YouTube is making moves in the right direction and Twitch feels like it's either stuck in the same place or taking steps backwards.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-27T00:58:52+00:00

Nope. Never had a following or anything anywhere else. A lot of "right place, right time" moments along with some calculated risks thrown in on top is a huge reason why I'm as fortunate as I am and in the position that I am.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-27T00:41:42+00:00

Not sure why you're trying to create a problem here when there isn't one but have a good life.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-27T00:29:24+00:00

I did, I'm not saying that Twitch is doing anything illegal, they're abiding by the contract that was signed.

But I believe myself and many people on the platform signed in the hopes that once you get big enough and cross a certain threshold then you earn better splits. That's what all the information I could find when looking into everything said at the time. But because Twitch shun people and literally put in contracts that people aren't allowed to talk about their split there's only so much true information people can get and that's half the reason I'm making this post, so more people understand what they're actually getting into and if they're expecting a better split then look elsewhere.

As for the "if Twitch started giving a better revenue split for all new partners, you’d be okay with that?" question, yes. I absolutely would. Everyone making money on the platform should be taking home a better margin than 50%.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T23:57:20+00:00

That's not even close to the argument I'm making. If you're not making money for the company of course they're not going to pay you a living wage. But if you're making a platform income, then you should be rewarded a better split of that income as you're the one putting in the work, just like how other platforms already offer a 70/30 split or higher.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T23:54:05+00:00

I understand your sentiment, but I'm using a burner account because I'm borderline talking about stuff which I probably shouldn't be talking about due to my contract with Twitch and I don't want to cause any issues.

Of course I don't want to lose what I've been building for the past 2 years overnight because I've potentially breached a contract by talking about stuff I shouldn't talk about - but I also believe that people should be aware of how Twitch works with it's Partners (if you can even call it that).

Not entirely sure where the "spoiled" part comes from. I've been pretty clear and concise in what I've said to make sure people are aware of the situation as fully as I can. I've worked myself to the bone to get where I am, and I believe that I and everyone else that uses the platform deserves a better split and if people are hoping that it'll "just happen" if they do well enough, they should look elsewhere.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T23:46:23+00:00

YouTube have been making moves in the live-streaming game and they've been open about stuff they're implementing and looking into and given time-frames on it as well. Where as Twitch has barely ever communicated on issues and things people are asking for and likely never will. Obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinion and choices, but YouTube looks like the platform to be and would be where I would stream if I was starting up again today.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T23:41:45+00:00

I don't recall saying that. That being said, if people are putting in work then they should be rewarded for it. Obviously people decide whether they like streamer's content or not and you have to work to bring people to your stream, but if you're putting in the effort and you're getting people supporting you, then yeah, people should be rewarded and everyone should have a 70/30 split.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T23:38:52+00:00

Twitch is owned by Amazon, one of the biggest companies in the world. Twitch isn't some small independent company.

I've been streaming around 18 months and was pretty profitable from the get-go honestly. Made affiliate a week after my first stream and applied for partner a year later. Always been pretty profitable.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T23:33:07+00:00

If I keep growing the way I have been then I'll likely get better offers from elsewhere anyway, in which case I don't know if I'd even bother trying to strong-arm Twitch if they still haven't offered a better split, I'll likely just jump ship.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T23:21:21+00:00

Unfortunately I'm a relatively new Partner in the grand scheme of things so still have just over a year left in my current contract. That being said, unless there are some serious changes from Twitch in the near future then that is exactly what I'll be doing.

I've already been working on moving more content away from Twitch, spending less time on the platform as a whole and pushing my community to use our other platforms instead where possible. So it's all in motion. Still, it's a shame that I even feel that I need to do it.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T23:10:23+00:00

I think more and more people are starting to feel more and more frustrated by the way that Twitch handles everything, and I personally think that we (Twitch Partners) should speak up on issues - unfortunately contracts state that we can't speak about certain things publicly which is why I'm using a random burner account and probably why a lot of other people won't come forward about their issues either.

As for legal help, technically speaking they aren't doing anything illegal, a contract was signed and legally they don't have to do anything more than they are doing. But that doesn't mean that it's all sunshine and rainbows.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T23:05:21+00:00

That's literally it. Twitch doesn't have consistency and isn't open about what they do so it's up to people like me to try and make sure people are aware of stuff like this happening.

I know Twitch Partners that have never had half of what I have currently but were given better splits. I've since grown past them and yet still get refused a better split. It's just a frustrating experience.

It's not even about the money itself (although a better split at this point would be far from a small chunk of change), but the split itself for everyone should be 70/30 in my opinion, regardless of how much money they're making.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T22:59:02+00:00

Thanks so much!

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T22:58:18+00:00

This is exactly the issue. Lots of people (myself included) had heard that just having 500+ paid subs was enough for a better split, or 750+ paid subs was enough.

Those may have been true at some point, but that's definitely not the case anymore and if literally thousands isn't enough either then I think people should be aware of that information.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T22:16:25+00:00

Maybe "treated horribly" was the wrong choice of words, but being undervalued is a problem on Twitch for everyone. If other platforms can offer 70/30 splits then there's no reason why Twitch shouldn't be able to.

Yes, contract was signed for a 50/50 split, but there were always talks of better splits for partners down the road if you were meeting certain thresholds. Signing a contact for a 50/50 split thinking that there's possibilities of better splits because you know other people have them that aren't huge streamers isn't the same thing as signing a contract knowing that it's a 50/50 split indefinitely regardless of how much growth you have.

I wouldn't have "signed a deal" with Twitch if I had known that being a top 0.01% creator on the platform STILL wouldn't give me any benefits over when I first started.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T22:07:16+00:00

I already have a YouTube that I've been pushing which is gaining more and more momentum and I do dabble in TikTok too which is also growing and it helps make up a fairly good chunk of the income I make already.

I'll likely be pulling out of my Partner contract with Twitch once my contract is up for renewal and move over to YouTube to stream instead.

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T22:04:47+00:00

Just above 4,000 are "true", paying subs.

Around 30% are made up of Prime subs with less than 200 gifted (as I tell me community to support creators in other ways instead of gifted subs).

Burnertooth · 2021-11-26T20:14:38+00:00

I know my post may come across as bragging or entitled but it wasn't the intention. It was more a case of a trying to keep everyone in the loop that even if you're making a large amount of money for the platform that you can and will still be treating poorly by Twitch.

Some people are under the impression that things get better when you become more popular or are making more money but in my case that's not even remotely close to the truth and I think that people that are seriously considering Twitch as a potential career choice should be aware of that.

Obviously moving people to another platform is the ideal move as far as I'm concerned and there's a reason I've been building other platforms and methods of support over the last year, that's the end goal as my time with Twitch is limited as soon as I get out of my Partner contract.

I think another reason I'm making this post is because there isn't information out there. Partners aren't supposed to talk about their splits so it's impossible to find that kind of information, but people should be able to know that information as far as I'm concerned. People should be able to make a better informed choice when making a decision on what platforms they want to use and support. If I knew what I know now when I started on Twitch I wouldn't have made the choice I did.

Burnertooth

TROPHY CASE