TWITCH MUSIC BEST PRACTICES
Below please find follow-up information provided by Allyson Toy, Music Partners Manager from Twitch.
As promised, to get acclimated with Twitch, I recommend checking out our Twitch for Artists page! On this page you'll also find:
Twitch 101: a quick overview of Twitch, its main features and the difference between streamer, Affiliate and Partner accounts
Getting Started: technical needs, setup guides and recommended gear
Monetization: summary of how to monetize on Twitch through ads, subscriptions and bits
Channel Page Setup: where, how and a few tips on customizing your channel to drive engagement For a deep dive into the finer points and features, check out the PDF linked below.
For a deep dive into the finer points and features, check out this PDF.
The main ways that Twitch differs from other social media platforms are:
Direct-to-fan revenue model (subscription, ads, bits, etc.)
Home for your super fans (identify them as subscribers, speak directly to them on stream and email them directly from the platform)
Culture of Giving (generosity like gifting subscriptions is endemic to the Twitch experience. Easy to raise $$ for charity- streamers have raised $210m+ here over time)
Audience Sharing (use built-in Twitch features like hosting and raiding to share live viewers, audience and community)
Live First (as opposed to VOD first, live as a "nice to have")
Quality (superior A/V quality and customization)
The two big things to remember while growing your channel are consistency (creating a schedule and sticking to it) and community (engage directly with your viewers). My recommendation for a good starting place is to stream twice weekly (same time same day each week) for at least 2 hours.
As for what to do on stream, that's up to you! If you're just starting out, I recommend thinking about "what am I already doing in my life that I can bring my fans along for" instead of trying to reinvent the wheel with a whole new "act." It makes it much easier to integrate streaming into your everyday life, and fans can tell when something doesn't feel natural.
If you're new to the platform, here are a few accounts you can check out to see what others are doing. Remember to try and catch them live for the best experience.
Producers
Kenny Beats - gold standard for building community around music production
Illmind - primarily production sessions
Erick the Architect - great contests and variety of content
RAC - beautiful layout
Baauer - really involves fans through beat contests, call-ins via Discord, etc.
Artists
Mike Shinoda - recently made a record and released it all on Twitch
mxmtoon - plays music, song requests, and games
Mixing Engineers
DJs
Four Color Zack - vibrant personality masterful at speaking to chat
DJ Getlive! - great daily AM streams that don't compete with peak time
Music Talk
The Needle Drop - primarily song reviews
Lost Resort - new podcast/interview series by TOKiMONSTA and Soul Clap
Mystery School - "late night show" hosted by musicians Owen Bones and Sir Michael Rocks
Singer/Songwriters
Megan Lenius - longtime streamer who makes her living on Twitch!
The Luck - a husband/wife duo who built their entire music career on Twitch
Rock
Brendon Urie - frontman for Panic! At The Disco
Matt Heafy - frontman for heavy metal band Trivium. streams variety: guitar clinics, vocal warm ups, jiu-jitsu routines, video games, and AMAs, etc.
Labels/Festivals/Other
Rolling Loud - weekly programming with music news, studio sessions, music premieres, rap battles, music performances
Desert Hearts - house/techno festival and label streaming performances, talks, etc. they push a positive, community-oriented message and consistent charity angle
King of the Dot - longtime rap battle series bringing what they do best to Twitch. partnership kicked off late Sept.
Mad Decent - they've built a great schedule that has consistent "formats" featuring their artists, interspersed with one-time streams for releases or artists who don't stream regularly yet. See their Home tab for a leaderboard of top fans
Club House Global - festival-style weekly Saturday stream with multiple artists and DJs like Jidenna, Venus X, etc. Incredible visuals and production quality
Serato - trusted DJ hardware company whose channel features different top DJs 3x week
Soundcloud - they stream 3 days a week and feature live performances, artist interviews, beat breakdowns, etc.
Behind The Rhyme - panels and interviews with artists, industry, songwriters, etc. mixed with social justice conversations and live hip hop and R&B performances