Twitch tweaks monetization tools to try and help smaller creators build a following

“Twitch has always been a top-heavy platform given its lack of discoverability and a format that pushes viewers to streams that have higher viewership,” political streamer Austin “Gremloe” MacNamara told Digiday. 

Twitch does not provide regular metrics in terms of viewership, and how it’s broken down across streamers. That means streamers, marketers, and journalists rely on third-party measuring services like SullyGnome, a statistics and analytics service for Twitch, that accesses the platform’s API, collecting information every five minutes and aggregating it daily, sometimes hourly.

One SullyGnome chart shows just how extreme the concentration of viewership is on Twitch: the top five channels on the platform had around 3.5 million views on May 11, while 2,500 channels barely broke 500,000 that same day.

Mustafa Aijaz, vp of SoaR gaming, confirmed to Digiday that Twitch has a consolidation problem. “The top-heavy nature of Twitch is evident,” he said, though he declined to share SoaR’s internal metrics around viewership.

“Typically, a streamer gains traction through an external catalyst — like winning a tournament or being involved in a viral moment that converts into consistent viewership or collaborations with other established creators. Without those external bumps, growth tends to stagnate,” Aijaz said.

When asked about the reports suggesting Twitch’s viewership is top heavy, Minton told Digiday that Twitch is a “lively platform.”

“The trending content is continuously shifting; nearly a quarter of our top creators change every month,” he said. “Overall, our viewership and community attention flow across a wide spectrum of creators and content categories with time, so this program will continue to help spread and diversify viewership and content across the platform.”

Twitch has sought to solve this problem by improving discoverability, investing in short-form clips, and its more recent push to democratize platform earnings through its “monetization for all” initiative. 

“We were one of the first services that really expanded monetization to as many as we practically could,” Minton said. The platform recently lowered the requirement to reach affiliate, the lower tier that lets streamers monetize.

On May 19, the platform launched new tools including creator badge drops (customizable badges creators can award viewers), custom power-ups (on-screen effects viewers trigger by donating so-called bits, Twitch’s virtual currency), and more ways for viewers to join “hype trains,” the celebratory moments that kick off when financial support spikes during a stream.

Twitch is making these features available to all users, removing the gate that previously limited them to affiliates and partners.

“It really helps creators get started sooner and get to that first payout,” Twitch head of product Mike Minton told Digiday. “Our data shows that getting that first payout is really an important affirmational moment… And a lot of those creators continue to grow because they’ve built a community that supports them and hangs out with them every stream.”

Minton said that, after introducing the new tools internally to creators, Twitch received 74,000 early sign-ups for the tools within just one week.

Twitch’s linger discovery problems

Not everyone is sold. MacNamara, who was a part of that beta, said the tools were confusing and his audience didn’t really use them. He doesn’t see their value, though he noted his streams are more like talk radio.

“There’s already three ways for viewers to contribute to their favorite streamers: subscriptions (personal and gifted to other chatters), bits, and direct donations,” he said. “Most content creators want to make content and receive support from their communities with as little management of the financial avenues as possible so they can focus on the content and community building.”

For MacNamara, these new tools won’t move the needle for a “significant number” of Twitch streamers. “There may be a few use case scenarios where streamers invest in how to diversify their revenue options,” he said. “But what creators want is ways to get in front of larger audiences.”

Minton told Digiday that the creators who use Twitch’s suite of community monetization tools tend to see higher viewership and engagement. Twitch did not provide statistics.

Discoverability remains a separate problem. Twitch’s home page tends to prioritize highlighting streamers with high viewer counts, even though getting on that front page can be a boon for smaller creators.

“The largest organic viewership I’ve ever had was during a front page stream where I peaked at 6,000 viewers without any raids or promotion from other streamers,”  said MacNamara.

Minton confirmed the platform is committed to improving this system.

In a creator economy era where clipping is the growth hack of choice, Twitch has focused on prioritizing short-form content — in October 2023, it introduced Instagram-like stories to its mobile app, and Minton said the team is focused on the short-form experience. The company is also working on something called auto clips to create smaller clips of video aimed at attracting streamers with a smaller following.

“The only way to ‘democratize earning’ is an honest way is a larger revenue split and greater say in the direction the platform takes,” MacNamara said.

Aijaz suggested a more systematic approach to surfacing talented streamers, that could include creator-to-creator collaboration events, clipping incentives, or Twitch-sanctioned events that give smaller channels genuine exposure to new viewers.

As the creator economy surges, platforms are constantly looking for ways to improve their offerings to court more creators. Twitch’s payout scheme makes it easier for creators to earn money without having a massive audience, but harder for them to earn enough to make it their career without more eyes on their content.