DistroKid, Twitch partner to offer musicians more earnings potential

The music distributor says the programme gives its members “who have shown a level of dedication and success in music” an opportunity to earn money through features like channel subscriptions, bits and ad revenue sharing.

Channel subscriptions let members earn revenue when users pay for a subscription to their Twitch channel. Bits are virtual goods that viewers can use to ‘cheer’ a channel, giving the streamer a share of the revenue. Twitch Affiliates can also earn some revenue from video ads played on their channel.

In order to qualify, artists must first have a release on DistroKid for at least 30 days and have a minimum of three streams on Spotify.

“DistroKid worked with Twitch to extend their Affiliate qualifications to recognise the work that DistroKid members have put into creating music and building fans across music streaming services,” Distrokid said.

The move makes Distrokid the latest distributor that has partnered with Twitch to accelerate musicians to affiliate status. SoundCloud and Bandsintown were among the first music distribution platforms to do so in March last year during the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions globally. Musicians can sign up or learn more about the service here.

The deal builds on DistroKid and Twitch's partnerships. The distribution platform also provides music to the livestreaming company’s Soundtrack service.

The announcement comes a month after DistroKid launched its new artists and repertoire service called Upstream. The free service allows independent musicians to share data with record labels in hopes of getting signed.

DistroKid is the biggest independent distributor globally. The platform claims it distributes about one-third of all new music in the world, with more than 2 million artists and outperforms rivals such as CD Baby and TuneCore, which distribute about 650 000 and 250 000 artists, respectively.