Since a few years ago, TikTok has made it its mission to promote the newest music industry hits, and artists like Lil Nas X, Lizzo, and Doja Cat have already experienced significant career advancement as a result of the Chinese platform. The social network now appears to be facing competition from… Twitch. In fact, the industry leader in live video streaming is becoming more significant in the music industry.
Twitch values music greatly. The music business, however, has long suffered because of the Amazon subsidiary. Following numerous violations of copyright laws, the platform earned the wrath of the powerful Recording Industry Association of America in 2020. Since then, it has made amends by establishing partnerships with the independent label Merlin, Universal Music, and Warner Music Group.
These initiatives reveal Twitch’s desire, like TikTok, to carve out a niche for itself in the music industry. The Chinese social network has succeeded in becoming one of the major tastemakers and sources of music discovery despite not being a true streaming platform like Spotify or Deezer thanks to its brief, compelling videos.
According to a study the live video streaming giant conducted in collaboration with Luminate, Twitch appears to be following suit. The platform was used by more than 2,300 Americans between the ages of 13 and 40 who participated in the survey. It turns out that a third of them have started using Twitch to find new music and artists.
Even more unexpectedly, 54% of respondents say that streamers’ suggestions and counsel have helped them broaden their musical interests. During their live performances, streamers frequently suggest songs or even invite well-known musicians to appear on their channels.
The rapper Vald performed five songs from his most recent album, “V,” exclusively for Gotaga, the most popular streamer in France. Several other well-known streamers, including VoicesChris and KayvanMD, also host sessions where they do music reviews and give feedback on demo submissions from up-and-coming and independent artists. KayvanMD, real name Kayvan Daragheh, works as an artist relations director at Genius during the day and frequently shares his favorite songs on other social media platforms.
According to the study, which was seen by the specialized media Music Business Worldwide, Twitch users are ardent music fans. They don’t hesitate to put their hands in their pockets for their passion, spending 46 percent more per month than “the average music consumer” and spending 21 percent more time each week listening to music.
However, Twitch viewers frequently have very specific musical preferences. They appear to particularly enjoy EDM and electronic music. Given how prevalent the genre is in video game soundtracks, this is not unexpected. They also enjoy jazz, classical music, hip-hop, heavy metal, and k-pop. If there were any doubt, this is confirmation that the music business is very interested in treating gamers seriously.
