Writing this blog post comes with positive and negative emotions on the premier live streaming platform of Twitch. I have been a streamer for nearly 4 years (started Nov. 30th, 2016) and have had some amazing ups and down on the platform, have seen some changes made throughout my tenure, and am currently on a break from streaming which started June of this year (2020). Why did I go on break after streaming literally every day for 8 months straight? In large part because I was denied again (10 times now)to become a Twitch partner after reaching the stated requirements for becoming one.
The current stated requirements to become a Twitch partner as of the current date (9/21/2020) are as follows
- Stream for 25 hours within a 30 day period
- Stream on 12 different days within a 30 day period
- Average 75 viewers within a 30 day period
Over the last approximately 4 years (I kid you not), I have met these requirements multiple times (10) and have been denied each time without any explanation for the denial. All Twitch does is send you a boiler plate response when they deny you that does not give any helpful information to the applicant on how they can do better next time. As someone who is use to hitting goals and achievements as stated, this is perhaps one of the most demoralizing experiences of my life. But enough of the pity party. I am writing this in the hope that Twitch may actually change one day for the better so that content creators who deserve to become partner by reaching these stated goals get what they rightfully deserve.
Those who are not partners on Twitch are known as affiliates. Affiliates do get some of the benefits of partnership, including subscription based income, which is great. So why is it so important to get the ever elusive partnership check mark? For me it is more so a personal goal, but in reality, partnership on Twitch gives you massive credibility that you can use to grow your channel through sponsorships, collaborations with gaming companies, and even to use as a reason to get verified badges on other social media sites like Twitter. Image is everything on the internet, and so there is an intrinsic value to the blue check mark next to ones name.
Which brings us back to Twitch’s current partnership process and requirements. At present, after you meet the stated requirements above you can apply to the program. After application, you should hear back from Twitch within 7 days (usually takes longer). The part of the process that is the most vague and frustrating is that there is currently a judgement call that is being made outside of the stated requirements. This judgement call is not clear, is not obvious, and leaves room to think that foul play could potentially be occurring behind the scenes at Twitch.
What Twitch should do is this. They should drop any vague requirements and make it be a clear cut target that one must achieve in order to become Twitch partner. You hit the requirements? Great! Welcome to the partnership program.
Why is this important and good for both the content creator and Twitch?
- The content creator gets more opportunities and more opportunities could also spill over to Twitch as a result (increased subscription revenue / ad revenue from sponsors).
- The negative press the current partnership process receives would disappear and positive press would replace it.
- Achieving usually inspires people to achieve more, increasing the content creators productivity. The current process discouraged me to the point where I have walked away from 200 monthly subscribers (may not seem like much but extrapolate this across the platform and it becomes a much bigger profit loss for Twitch).
- Making the criteria clear cut allows for automation and ultimately cost savings for Twitch as they wont need people to manually intervene in the approval process.
Will I ever return to streaming again? Yes. It is something that I love to do and the community that I have cultivated over the last nearly 4 years has become very near and dear to my heart. I owe it to them to come back and be a place of positivity and refuge from the crazy world that we live in. Part of the reason for me writing this article is to purge the negative feelings I have by leaving them behind on virtual paper (this blog) so that I can finally feel good about streaming on Twitch again. Sure, I could always switch platforms and go on YouTube or Facebook Gaming, but that would require me to leave behind the hard work and time I have invested into the Twitch platform and potentially leave some of my community behind.
To Twitch if you read this,
Please consider making your requirements straight forward. Please don’t make judgement calls on if someone is worthy to join your platform as partner or not. Clearly the content creator has found their own audience who watches their shows. It is not for Twitch to double dip (enjoying a content creators revenue but not rewarding them with partnership because of a judgement call). You hit the numbers you should get partner, period. The other systems that twitch has in place can ensure that the partner follows their responsibilities.
Thanks for reading and I hope to be back to streaming on Twitch soon!