05 Tools Found.ee 06-07 Campaigns Abbey Road Studios, Tanlines Tyler, the Creator, Pandora/Rolling Stones 08-11 Behind The Campaign Torche APRIL 22 2015 sandboxMUSIC MARKETING FOR THE DIGITAL ERA ISSUE 131 TWITCH-FINDER GENERAL COVERFEATURE TIMELINE MUSIC ON TWITCH: SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS TWITCH-FINDER 2014 May: Diplo’s Mad MUSIC AND Decent label launches a Twitch channel. GAMING REBORN July: Steve Aoki streams GENERAL a live DJ set to launch his Twitch channel. August: Porter Robinson launches his Twitch channel, giving fans a look into the video games that inspired his Worlds album. August: Ghostly International artists perform the original music they composed for PlayStation’s Hohokum soundtrack on PlayStation’s Twitch channel. November: US dance music duo Krewella premiere new song, ‘Say Goodbye’, on Twitch. December: EDM label Monstercat launches Prodigy released a new single on there, Skrillex is an evangelist, Steve Aoki was an early adopter. Now more a 24-hour music channel on Twitch. acts are flocking to Twitch – a platform fizzing with such potential that Amazon bought it for just under $1bn. December: deadmau5 We look at why the hype around this live-gaming community is, for the most part, justified, why more artists debuts his Twitch channel. and labels are treating it very seriously indeed (and licensing their music for it) and how it is breathing new life (continued over page ») into music and gaming. rom Wipeout on the PlayStation to Guitar Twitch.tv, an online platform where fans broadcasters, the For the music industry, too, Hero (which is making a bold return later go to watch other people play games; and, same month in which Twitch is becoming increasingly Fthis year), music and video games have if they’re feeling adventurous, broadcast it was said to have important. The company made become close bedfellows over the last two themselves gaming. become the fourth its first serous move into music decades, helped by a significant degree of Whichever way you look at it, Twitch largest source of peak in July 2014 when it broadcast audience crossover. is a Very Big Thing Indeed: in 2013, 45m internet traffic in the an Ibiza set from DJ Steve Aoki, But even the most games-friendly users watched 12bn minutes of video on US; and in September the move coming in response to music executive might be excused a certain Twitch, an increase of 100% year-on-year; in 2014 Amazon bought feedback from Twitch users. amount of confusion when faced with February 2014, the company hit 1m active Twitch for $970m. “A couple of weeks ago we 2 | sandbox | ISSUE 131 | 22.04.15 COVERFEATURE channel in March. “ There is a large crossover between gaming and music audiences since many game broadcasters use music as part of their streams, not to mention that most games have their own robust scores and soundtracks ,” says Colin Carrier, CSO and head of music for Twitch. Hop-hop label Rhymesayers has been one of the most active on Twitch, launching surveyed the Twitch community and asked: Twitch stream a live video interview with the its own channel in April and adding more from a gaming background, as both a gamer TIMELINE ‘Would you be interested in watching your band and add their ‘Wall Of Death’ track to than 100 songs to the Twitch Music and as someone who has worked in the favourite artists perform live on Twitch?’ A its Music Library. Library. Subscribing to the label’s Twitch MUSIC ON TWITCH: video game industry, including at games- full 80% of you said, ‘Yes!’,” Twitch wrote on “ The Prodigy have had a long affinity channel gives gamers access to bespoke SELECTED focused MCN, Machinima. But she says that its official blog. “Some friends in the music with games,” Cooking Vinyl head of digital Rhymesayers Twitch emotes (essentially HIGHLIGHTS the decision to work closely with Twitch was industry have been interested in sharing free Sammy Andrews said at music:)ally’s Future Twitch-specific emoticons) and invites to 2015 largely driven by fans as much as by Twitch’s live concerts on Twitch for some time. Given Music Marketing event in London last week. subscriber-only games with Rhymesayers own decision to work with music. January: Twitch Music the community’s feedback in our survey, we “We took a punt on it and decided to unlock staff and artists, while the label has Library launches. “As for what Twitch gives us, it’s more said ‘Yes!’.” one track and license it for a set period of promised to stream video games and host February: Skrillex joins about what it gives us and our fans,” she The stream proved a notable success, too: time [to Twitch].” community events on Twitch every week. Diplo for a 24-hour explains. “Sure, it’s a great way to try to get it attracted more than 250k unique viewers As a punt, this was probably a fairly Twitch puts music in front of fans that DJ marathon on our music across ears who might not have Beatport’s Twitch and was responsible for almost half the reliable one: the Twitch audience is are otherwise impossible to reach channel to unveil their found a way to us before. But, on the other clicks on the pre-order links for Aoki’s new dominated by males aged 15-35, which Rhymesayers launched its channel on Jack U project. hand, it’s also a way to help cater to those album, according to his label. suggests a strong potential crossover with 3rd April with a three-hour live stream of February-March: fans who have been asking us to provide music. To date, EDM and hip-hop acts artists Grieve and Red Meek and social Spinnin’ Records, Dim our music that they can legally use in their Mak, FiXT, and Skrillex’s Growing the Twitch have been the most active on the platform, media manager Sarah Dope playing Call Of OWSLA label launch broadcasts.” Music Library although American violinist Lindsey Stirling Duty: Advanced Warfare on Xbox One, with 24/7 music channels The response, she says, has been has also worked with Twitch, streaming select fans invited to join in. on Twitch with music impressive. “I don’t have exact numbers In January 2015, Twitch launched a a Q&A session on the ArtistCouch Twitch “We like to try to be where our fans fully cleared for use. on these things, but from the sentiment Music Library March: for its creators, giving are,” Dope explains. “As someone who The Prodigy stream an that I’ve seen on social, it’s a slightly bigger them a catalogue of music they can use keeps a close eye on the various digital interview, preview new crossover than I think even I was expecting,” when streaming gaming footage (this platforms where our community is, tracks and add ‘Wall Of Dope explains. doubled in size, albeit to a modest 1,000 I noticed the demand there. When Death’ to the Twitch “We have our fans who are avid gamers Music Library. tracks, earlier this month). Twitch needed to start cracking down March: and regular Twitch users/broadcasters who And the past few months have on copyrights of streamed music [in Twitch announces were extremely thrilled. [There are also] our seen the company both stream live August 2014] and some of our fans it is the official fans who were unfamiliar with the platform footage from the Ultra Music Festival started asking what our policies broadcasting partner of but still stoked and intrigued about the Ultra Music Festival. (symbolically replacing YouTube as were when it came to streaming our April 1: Darude appears partnership and launch. And then we had streaming partner) and work with the catalogue in their broadcasts, we really on his Twitch channel a handful of Twitch users who had never Prodigy to promote the band’s new wanted to provide an answer for them.” and announces a 24/7 heard of us before, but took the time to come album. This two-part promotion saw It helps, of course, that Dope comes Sandstorm broadcast. check us out just because we weren’t like 3 | sandbox | ISSUE 131 | 22.04.15 COVERFEATURE Twitch. Steve Aoki , for example, twice Rhymesayers, for example, has “a lot battled fellow artists on Ultra Street Fighter of fun ideas we’ve been trying to work on” IV using Twitch in 2014 and returned to his – although the label can’t say more about Twitch channel this month to debut his new them for the moment. single with Linkin Park, ‘Darker Than Blood’. Dope says she would love to see other Skrillex is another serial Twitcher: in labels get involved. “ Gaming isn’t going December 2014 his OWSLA label streamed anywhere but up right now ,” she its holiday party on Twitch and in February concludes. “eSports is a huge part of it right 2015 he joined Diplo for a 24-hour DJ set now and is even a part of the X Games and on BeatPort ’s Twitch channel to unveil shown on ESPN. You see more and more other music genres currently available on their Jack U project, racking up more than A-list actors taking on video game roles Twitch. They’ve become new fans through 1.1m live views. The same month, OWSLA these days. You see Snoop Dogg getting his this already.” launched its 24/7 Twitch stream, promising own voice-add-on as a micro transaction in The reason for this success is not simply music from the label’s artists (all cleared Call of Duty.