I'm excited to start this week's newsletter off by announcing my first-ever merch drop! Merch is something I've been thinking about since the beginning of the year, but it was easy to put off while working on other things. As a creator, there are always a million things needing your time! Fortunately, thanks to a partnership with Fourthwall, I was finally able to sit down and develop merch I could be proud of!
There are 11 total options, with multiple colors, split into two categories: Twitch Noise and TOS.
Twitch Noise stems from a leaked internal memo from then-President Dan Clancy after announcing terrible changes to creator pay, suggesting creators speaking out on social were 'noise'. I've since then felt it was a good way to describe those of us wanting Twitch to treat creators better. We are TWITCH NOISE. The TOS category is a bit less aggressive but still looks badass (and the Tumbler is a great option for hot or cold drinks AND comes with a metal straw!)
Fourthwall really did make it easy to set up, set prices, and design the overall shop. Any creator thinking about monetizing through merch OR a membership service should check them out! They have a wide set of features exclusively designed for Twitch streamers, such as Twitch Alert Integration, Merch Gifting, Twitch Sub-based Discounts, and so much more. I confidently put my reputation behind the fact you won't be disappointed!
Check out my brand new merch shop at shop.tos.gg! Your purchase goes directly to supporting my work AND you get something in return!
Twitch News
- Twitch Turbo revenue is now displayed independently of Ad revenue.
- There's a new Global Emote to celebrate the launch of Mortal Kombat 1 called FlawlessVictory.
- The Shared Ban system now includes Shared Mod Comments.
- Shield Mode is now integrated into the Mod Dashboard.
- Twitch's Global Head of PR, Samantha Faught, has officially left the company. She had been promoted to the role in June 2023.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE: Normally, you would need to subscribe to see the rest of this post - but in celebration of launching my merch store, it's available to all!
Streaming Industry News
- Kick has announced their current qualifications for their Creator Incentive Program. Monthly benchmarks: 126CCV, 239 Subs, 337 Unique Chatters, and streaming 89 hours a month. Seems a bit random, but maybe just the starting point and further refinement to come.
- Discord will soon give Nitro users app icon choices.
- Discord is launching Activity Alerts + Security Actions. The former will warn you of unusual or possible problematic activity in your server. The latter will allow moderators to quickly take action on unusual activity.
- Voice channels on Discord can now be given status' on Desktop.
- LiveSpace has added Gifted Subs, Dark Mode, a Following Sidebar, Introduced 4K video, and a trending feed.
- TikTok has officially launched Shop in the USA. This may present some opportunities for live creators, considering the emphasis on live sales.
- TikTok is paying agencies to get people to livestream. They pay the agencies based on the money creators earn from the 50% TikTok takes from each gift.
- MixItUp has introduced Random actions to its alert systems.
- Snapchat has opened up its verification program called Snap Star.
- Logitech has launched the Reach Camera to make overhead shots for creators easier.
- This article in Ad Week talks about how Gaming influencers have sway over brands, and the brands know it.
- Brand Drama: Eklipse called out StreamLadder for some not-so-kind marketing.
- StreamLabs has launched Dual Output to stream both horizontally and vertically.
- Apple's iPhone 15 Pro has AV1 support, which means 3-5 years before it's available in all our phones.
- Corsair workers appear to be planning to unionize in Georgia.
- Unity catch up? Unity is planning to start charging a new fee for game installs. It caused a LOT of pushback from game developers, creators, and the industry. This recent update aims to address SOME of that anger. But apparently, another update is coming.
Creator News
- Mason "Symfuhny" Lainer signed with Loaded.
- Radio France interviewed French Twitch Star Kamet0.
- The CEO of Rumble gave Kai Cenat and IShowSpeed a house.
- Regiment is moving their stream team from Twitch to Kick.
- Esports Pro Doublelift is making a comeback.
- Myth is hosting a new show on Crown Channel called Creator Mode.
- Bloomberg wrote about how Faze Clan went from being worth $1B to almost worthless.
- Mizkif leaked his weekly revenue on stream, earning $13,168 between September 5 and September 11, 2023.
Keys & Careers
Slashie101 and I went all out this week with some incredible opportunities, game keys, and careers!
💵 Game Awards Future Class Nominations
💵 Applications for The Noir Network
💵 Dead Good Paid Campaigns
💵 Creator Lounge at FORMAT
💵 Riot Forge Paid Campaigns
🗝️ 3 Months of Game Pass
🗝️ Bang-on Balls Chronicles
🗝️ Bilkins' Folly
🗝️ Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (Global)
🗝️ Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (NA/Europe)
🗝️ Chaos on Wheels
🗝️ Dune Spice Wars
🗝️ Eternights
🗝️ Moonstone Island
🗝️ The Troop
🗝️ Thief Simulator 2
🗝️ Tomb Raider Remaster
🌎 Social Content Producer at Corsair (On-Site, USA)
🌎 Social Media Manager at Full Squad Gaming (Hybrid, USA)
🌎 Community Manager at Some Awesome Guys (Remote)
🌎 Community Manager (Intern) at Wooga (Germany)
🌎 Community Manager at Activision (Mexico)
🌎 Global Community Manager at EA Games (Remote, Contract)
📹 Live Stream Producer at Funcom (Hybrid, Norway)
📹 YouTube Marketing Lead at Worlds (Remote)
🎤 Voice Designer at ZeniMax (France)
📝 TTRPG Writer at Celestial Masquerade (2K-3K Words, $0.15/Word)
🎨 Principal Character Artist at Zynga (Remote, North America)
📈 Senior Content Safety Strategist at Discord (Remote, USA)
Again, I'll give myself and Fourthwall a plug to end this email. If you want to support my work and get something tangible in return, go check out my brand-new merch store! And lastly, for creators, if you're contemplating your own merch or a membership program, go check out Fourthwall! Thank you SO much for reading, and have a great week of streaming! - Zach
