Twitch introduces new programme to support musicians

Twitch has announced The Collective, a programme it says will support musicians on the streaming platform.

The scheme will group together selected musicians into invite-only collectives, where they'll receive support in building communities and earning money through fans on Twitch.

The Collective will support musicians of all genres, formats and career stages, Twitch said, sharing the news on Twitter.

"There's a bunch of things that can make musicians successful on Twitch, but we've heard from a lot of musicians that it can be perceived to be difficult to get started on Twitch," she told Billboard.

"We really wanted to form a program to help make sure that creators are successful on our service. We want to help artists learn that livestream playbook for music. This is a new format, we know there are certain behaviors, certain tools, certain software setups that really help musicians be successful."

Musicians in The Collective will be educated on streaming basics, building community and monetisation tools among other topics. Twitch are seeking artists looking to stream regularly and uplift other members of the community.

Once musicians graduate from the programme, they'll be eligible for prioritised discovery, promotion, and activations from Twitch, as well as partners Rolling Stone and Amazon Music.

The news comes after a tricky relationship between Twitch and the music industry, following DMCA strikes for streamers using licensed music on-stream.

For more information, visit the Twitch FAQ.