Shannon Plante · @ShannonZKiller
20th Jun 2015 from TwitLonger
ShannonZSays: What YTGaming Twitch thing REALLY means for small streamers.
Colloquially known players 1 and 2 are going head to head for your content. But what's the real bottom line here for YOU, Mr. or Ms. Broadcaster? I see a lot of commentary lately on the /r/Twitch subreddit regarding this competitive buzz and I grow concerned because it seems many people are misinterpreting what having a major competitor actually means for them.
So let's start with some facts (YT's are all for its core site, it's obviously too early to have stats for YTG specifically):
YouTube Monthly Traffic: 360 billion minutes watched per month (Note: this number is over a year old but is the last known info released by Google. It was up from 4bil only a few months prior, so likely it could have doubled by now)
Twitch Monthly Traffic: 20 billion minutes watched per month
YouTube Total Users: more than 1 billion active per month
Twitch Total Users: more than 100 million active per month
YouTube Unique Content Creators: data not found
Twitch Unique Content Creators: 1.5 million active per month
YouTube Total Partnered Channels: more than 1 million (if we had the data for total unique content creators per month we could deduce the percentage of partners)
Twitch Total Partnered Channels: more than 11 thousand (this is roughly 1/136th of the total live channels per month)
YouTube also cites that "thousands of channels are making six figures per year" but Twitch has fairly decent representation on that as well, though I am basing this only off of donation site statistics and watching streams seeing average tip/subscription alert frequency/amounts, rather than any official Twitch data, as well as educated guesses based on stats here: http://socialblade.com/youtube/top/category/games, http://socialblade.com/twitch/top/500/followers.
What do all of these facts and figures mean? Well, currently you won't make much more than minimum wage on YouTube until you pull 50k views a day, something typically only found in channels with a quarter of a million subscribers or more. To make 6 figs on YT, you'd need roughly 100k monetized views a day AT LEAST (and remember this crucial point: the vast majority of people use ad-block, which, for most contracts, does NOT count towards your CPM); therefore this is something usually only 1mil+ subscriber channels earn. To be blunt, ads are a sort of backseat revenue source for streamers. They don't wield nearly as much power as subscritions/tips/sponsorships/etc. The data also shows an already heavy supply of channels to compete with on YouTube...roughly 10x more than Twitch has. Migrating due to a perception that Twitch is "too flooded" already means you're jumping from being a small fish in a very big sea to being a krill in the Pacific ocean. I should stop here for a moment to remind you that this is not said with the intention of crushing your dreams, just with the hope that you'll take into account the links where this data has come from, and look inward on finding ways to grow, before looking outward to blame something for success not dropping on your lap.
Furthermore, YouTube doesn't have the culture in place where receiving tips or subscriptions to your alternative paid-subscription platform are successful options (again, unless you have literally hundreds of thousands of YT subscribers). This is because their platform has grown over more than a decade upon a foundation of expectation for "free content", and thus why adblock is so rampant. There's also very little 'close-knit' sense of community on YouTube due to the structure and the lack of features for interaction, meaning that many established content creators who suddenly start asking for monetary contributions from their audience are often met with salty/toxic-comments and very minor support in proportion to how Twitch communities support broadcasters.
YouTube partnership also bizarrely warns that gaming commentary content is actually DMCA-risky:
"Without the appropriate license from the publisher, use of video game or software user interface must be minimal. Video game content may be monetized if the associated step-by-step commentary is strictly tied to the live action being shown and provides instructional or educational value.
Videos simply showing a user playing a video game or the use of software for extended periods of time may not be accepted for monetization."
So the more you know, as far as that's concerned.
As for me, yes, I am biased. I'm an admin and I manage the /r/Twitch subreddit, as well as managing a Twitch Team and am friends with many streamers/YTers and Twitch staff. But while I might be an admin for Twitch, I was a partner on both platforms first, with channels that grew in almost perfect tandem of sub count for the first year or so. I am a content creator (albeit very occasionally now that I have rooted myself deep into community support) and have the utmost respect for our corner of the games industry. Content creators are obsessive, dedicated, and some of the hardest-working people I've ever known. We are a tough and sleepless breed who negate all blood-ties, sanity and health responsibilities, and dreams of any -real- vacation, even if we can afford it. Even so, it's worth addressing that if you're one of those still feeling like you aren't established yet that ask "pfft what has Twitch done for me lately?" I have a very harsh truth for you: if you can't seem to get recognized on Twitch yet, do you honestly feel it's nothing to do with your content or branding, and entirely due to the structure of a site? Do you really think switching to any of the other options out there will make a noticeable impact on your streaming success?
My other biggest concern is that I don't see YouTube having a visible community of admins, answering reports, helping with tweets or on a subreddit (except for the YT rep who advertised in /r/Twitch until I asked him to stop...among other CEOs from other platforms who followed YT guy's lead). As it stands, I see no appropriate, reachable two-way customer service on YT for partners or their viewers, and no real-world reasonable handling of issues (contentID, DMCA, SWATTING, chat moderation, etc). YT currently allows all sorts of internet-harassment/SWAT videos on the site, even failing to remove the content for weeks when multiple reports are made by the copyright owner...I know this because I've helped a few major streamers who have been swatted and found their victim vids on YT to report the content. Finally there is also no real growth support provided beyond this "anyone can be a partner" concept, and handing out transcoding like its a free informational pamphlet at FROSH week. There doesn't seem to be any real structure at this point for empowering content creators to earn a better income beyond just CPM adsense, and there doesn't seem to be any mention of future plans to work closely with partners in lucrative projects like Twitch provides and continues to improve on (the new Top Broadcaster Program will likely build upon the current influencer, constant curated partner management and front-page placement opportunities, among many other things). I'm not saying it's a mistake to migrate to YT, I am only saying it's FAR too early to tell anything at this point and anyone spouting that Twitch has been slain or that YouTube will fail probably isn't the best source of advice for your career ambitions.
Closing thoughts: It's really early on for this "player 2" buzz so anyone saying either side will or already has begun to fail likely is a presumptuous sensationalist. Will YouTube flounder utterly? Highly unlikely. Will it squash Twitch due to its juggernaut size? Extremely doubtful. Will it ever truly give Twitch a serious run for its money? Maybe, but only if YT make sizable changes to revenue generation methods for content creators and start providing at least a modicum of effective partner support dialogue because all I've ever heard from 100k-500k subbed channels is how YT ignores them. Frankly I hope whatever does happen will be a benefit to everyone on both sides, since healthy competition only brings out the best in us all as we strive to be the best version of ourselves. Even companies can get complacent so it's great there's something to keep 'em on their toes.
But you need to do you. The lighthearted jokes and jabs each side takes are cool, and very entertaining. But don't let "grass-is-greener" syndrome take hold of you...do your research and plan your shit carefully. Work hard and work smart to get the success you want and don't you get complacent or entitled about what you think you deserve from either platform. You'll only be hurting your chances as soured outlooks have a habit of seeping into everything one does. Good luck, and keep fighting the good fight.
Sources for all above data:
http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/youtube-statistics/
https://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html
http://www.twitch.tv/year/2014
http://twitchadvertising.tv/audience/
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/82839?hl=en
http://help.twitch.tv/customer/portal/articles/735127-tips-for-applying-to-the-partner-program
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/08/28/how-twitch-fits-in-amazons-strategy/
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/138161
http://socialblade.com/youtube/youtube-money-calculator
http://youtubemoney.co/