Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda explains how he used Twitch to create a new album with fan input and how musicians can make money on the livestreaming platform

Mike Shinoda Twitch

Twitch has become a new source of income and stage for creativity for some musicians as they navigate cancelled tours and in-person events during the pandemic.
Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park is one artist who has found new ways to use the livestreaming service.
He dropped a full-length album on July 10 with the songs he and his viewers created on his Twitch streams.
Business Insider spoke with Shinoda and Twitch's head of music, Mike Olson, to learn more about how musicians are using the platform to make money and create songs and albums.
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Many musicians have had to pivot their careers as tours and in-person live shows have been cancelled or indefinitely postponed during the pandemic.

Some have connected with fans using livestreaming platforms like Twitch, which has generally been known for its popularity in the gaming industry. Twitch has become a platform for musicians to create new music, find new audiences, and make money.

An April report by Tubular Labs, a social-video analytics firm, found that "watch time on Twitch grew 33% between March 12 and 25 for live videos from music creators."

Mike Shinoda, the cofounder and vocalist of the rock band Linkin Park, tapped into online streaming around that time in March and fell into using Twitch as a new way to create and engage with his fans while at home.

"I noticed that artists, when quarantine happened and they had to cancel tours, albums, and single release schedules, a lot of emotions started flaring up," Shinoda told Business Insider.

Shinoda saw musicians streaming bedroom concerts, live covers, and DJ sets and realized he wanted to jump in.

"I designed my channel in a way that I thought would stand out," Shinoda said, describing how he used his production experience in several genres to start making new tracks by collaborating with his audience on the livestreams.

What started as a few challenges turned into a full-length album.

On July 10, Shinoda released Dropped Frames, Vol. 1 on streaming. The album was entirely created on Twitch streams with the creative contributions of his followers.

At this point in his career, Shinoda is looking at Twitch more as a creative venture than a business one, but he has used his following to raise money for fundraisers and will continue to release several new albums as a product of his channel, he said.

"One thing that's great about Twitch is that on the backend of their site, it is very transparent how much money you're making and how you're making that money," Shinoda said.

Mike Olson, SVP and head of music at Twitch, said the company was working to boost its money-making tools for musicians and had "established partnerships with key players in the music industry like Soundcloud and Bandsintown to accelerate the path to Affiliate status for independent artists."

"Building a following on Twitch can take time and these partnerships offer a way for artists to unlock monetization tools on a much shorter timeline," Olson said.

Building a community is the first step toward making money on Twitch

"The best way to grow your community, which is ultimately how artists can make more revenue on Twitch, is to keep a consistent schedule and notify your community across social channels when you plan to go live," Olson said.

For Mike Shinoda, starting a regular stream on Twitch meant bringing over his community from other platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter – where he is regularly sharing content with his fans. With 30,000 followers by April, Shinoda was able to raise over $20,000 in fundraising for Direct Relief COVID-19 Response. He now has 64,000 followers on the platform.

Mike Shinoda Twitch Stream

Other musicians have also been leaning into the collaborative nature of Twitch, which allows the audience to chat, submit content to the host, and hype up the stream.

Producer !llmind, who has around 8,000 followers, created an EP with fan-selected acapella tracks and beats using the Twitch Chat feature.

Kenny Beats, another musician, launched his Twitch channel in March and has over 127,000 followers. He hosts regular "beat battles" with emerging producers to get their work heard by major artists like Slowthai, Boldy James, Charlie Puth, and others.

Becoming a Twitch 'Affiliate' or 'Partner'

When Twitch users grow their communities, they become eligible for Twitch "Affiliate" or "Partner" status and unlock more tools to make money on the platform.

Streamers can qualify to become an affiliate — which is a membership status that allows users to earn revenue from subscriptions, ads, and bits (tips or virtual goods that viewers can buy and give to streamers) — once they have at least 50 followers and meet specific streaming and viewing benchmarks within a 30-day period.

Shinoda is a Twitch affiliate, but is in the process of becoming a partner, he told Business Insider. Becoming a partner will allow him (and any streamer) to make customizable bits (called cheernotes), add more personalized emoticons for subscribers (sub emotes) for purchase, and have access or handful of other monetization and creation perks. Partners tend to make more money because of these extra incentives.

Bits and subscriptions are the most straightforward ways for both affiliates and partners to make money, and Shinoda uses both.

A subscription to Shinoda's channel costs $4.99 a month and he earns 50% of the fee, with Twitch keeping the rest.

Shinoda's bits, which he coined as "ShinodaBucks," are how his viewers can vote or make suggestions for new tracks (such as using a sample from a Pokémon song).

For more information on how Twitch has become a monetization and creative tool for creators, read these other Business Insider stories:

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