Contracts between content creators and the websites they publish on have always been a little complicated. To make each site such as YouTube or Twitch feel special, they've often had clauses in the contracts of popular personalities that specify they can't put content elsewhere. Well today, Twitch has finally put an end to partner exclusivity which means if you're a partner on Twitch you can finally stream elsewhere—as long as you're not silly about it.
Twitch streamers previously could not stream on other platforms such as YouTube or Facebook if they had a partner contract with the site. Now those with that all important purple tick will be allowed to stream wherever they wish as long as they're not streaming on Twitch at the same time, which is a practice called multistreaming or simulcasting. The exception to the rule is that streamers can be live on Twitch while also broadcasting to TikTok or Instagram Live, which is a trend that has been growing rapidly over the last year.
This is all in the name of discoverability. These days it's very very hard, if not impossible to get big on Twitch without diversifying your content. That means having clips of your work, livestreams, full edited videos on as many other platforms you can get your hands on. With the trend of Twitch and YouTube reaching streaming agreements with content creators it's not clear if these new changes apply to those with exclusivity agreements. It might just apply to partners that have reached a smaller level of streaming fame.
💜💜💜For those wondering today Twitch announced the end of our exclusivity clause in Partner contracts!This means you can:- do singular streams to YouTube or Facebook- do multi streams (streaming at the same time as you are live) on Instagram Live or TikTok💜💜💜August 23, 2022
Many partners on Twitch may never have streamed elsewhere as YouTube and Facebook are the smaller streaming platforms. But with their continued progress in moulding these websites to cater better to streaming, it gives partners an opportunity to test out new waters.
This change has probably come into place because streamers have been forced to diversify to find any level of success on Twitch in recent years. They're already having to get creative with their work, so it makes virtually no sense to stop streamers performing elsewhere when they're already being forced by these platforms to reupload content from streams just to attract new viewers.
The changes are already in place, so expect to see more Twitch personalities testing out the alternatives.
