Help! My good friend wants to make a living from Twitchtv.

I have a buddy who is going to be broadcasting on Twitchtv soon, He bought the computer, a good mic, and the other equipment that he needs. We have talked about doing this and I think it's not worth it. He quit going to college. His parents are upset with him. He plans to stream 8-10 hours a day.

If he would have started this at the beginning when Twitch was Justintv a few years ago I would have encouraged him to do it. But now? I was just on Twitch, and it has become saturated. I think there are just way to many people streaming games now. Unless you started a few years ago it's going to be nearly impossible to make a dent. It's like opening a pizza parlor on a block with 3 other pizza parlors. Your chance at succeeding is going to be nearly impossible.

I like Twitchtv. I think being able to stream games all day is awesome. I also know that it's not going to be an easy thing to do. I just think he needs a backup plan, but he will not listen to me.

You gotta let people fail sometimes on their own. Believe me, my full-time job is helping people and many times they don't listen. Just don't sweat it, and be there for them, love them, be their friend (not their always adviser). You don't want to drive them away or break the friendship just because you think they're doing something foolish, do you? You've been a true good friend by giving your honest opinion and not just affirming every little thing they do.

Thank you for the advice. I will do just that.

Yeah your friend is going to go bankrupt very soon... and dropping out of college for this?

Anyhow, if you want to play games for a living without working at a games media place, put your content on YouTube (or both)... not twitch. Twitch CPM is terrrrrrrrrrrrrrible.

@MethodManFTW:

Dan's gaming does pretty well. All he does is game on twitch 8-10 hours a day.

I wonder what happens if you streamed on Twitch for 10 years and they go under. Do you go on job interviews and say that you streamed games on Twitch for 10 years. How would you even write a resume when you've spent years streaming on Twitchtv.

My advice is too punch him in the face someone needs to knock some sense into him if his parents aren't going too
that is literally the stupidest plan I've heard possibly in my entire life
Do whatever you possibly can to convince him otherwise.

On the bright side it takes some people longer than others to grow up and atleast his life going into a full on tailspin will be a nice rude awakening for him that he has to go back to college and be an adult.

Yeah, there are like maybe 50 people on twitch that do well doing it full time. And a overwhelming majority of those players just play League or DOTA.

@SaintJimmmy:

I agree with you Jimmy. But what about guys like ManvsGame?

http://www.dailydot.com/esports/man-vs-game-jayson-love-interview/

He has a degree but wasn't able to find work. Granted his degree is about as valuable as a piece of tissue, but that's not the point. His degree is in East Asian studies. He wasn't able to find work, so he decided to try his hand at streaming. It seems that he's doing pretty well.

Nowadays, 129,000 people have favorited his channel (an equivalent to a subscription on YouTube), and he's viewed nearly 27 million times.

I'd advise against putting all his eggs in one basket to begin with. Not only are the chances of him becoming the next Pewdiepie or Angry Joe incredibly low, but there's just no security in this kind of career. If there's one thing that the recent Youtube Content-ID scandal should teach everyone, it's that making a living off playing other people's material is always a risky practice. At any moment, you could have the rug pulled out from underneath your feet and your funding disappear, and it can come from anywhere: a copyright-holder, the site you upload to, your fanbase, or even some random internet trolls looking to make some chaos and/or easy cash. Also, the internet world moves incredibly fast. What's in today may barely have any fanbase tomorrow. He might be able to make a hit streaming show, but there's no guarantee it's going to have any more longevity than your typical teen pop star sensation.

But if your friend still insists on trying to make a living off it, I'd be encouraging him to take it slow. It sounds like he's just jumping right into a practice only because he saw how much money other people were making at it. Does he have any experience in streaming or Let's Playing at all? Does he know how to be entertaining or informative while playing a video game? It (usually) takes a lot more effort than it seems to make quality stream/LP videos, and this isn't even getting into finding an audience who'll watch you, which always carries a significant luck factor.

So yeah, I'd definitely encourage him to go back to college instead of abandoning it for a small chance at some easy money, or at the very least make streaming a hobby instead of his sole source of income. If he does go through with it and ends up failing miserably, make sure to support him and not get all high-horsey about it. As others have said above me, failure is the only way some people learn.

What you'd say is: I was self employed from 20xx through 20xx. If asked for type of business: Multimedia/Entertainment.

And if asked during an interview, one would say: While it was a valuable learning experience, sadly the opportunities in that field dried up and therefore we are reevaluating our position. While the market for such services finds its footing, my team and I (even if it was just you) are looking for more stable opportunities. See even if it were a bad idea that hemorrhaged money, you're making it the mistake of the industry rather than your own. "The market cooled" rather than "wow, I pulled a boner".

@1PMrFister:

Good comment. I agree with what you just said. I'd also like to add the net neutrality issues as well. Yes, it's in the beginning stages but I wonder how it's all going to play out for streaming sites like Twitch and You Tube, Netflix had to pay Comcast a substantial sum of money to ensure that their movies would stream without major interruptions.

@bmaw69:

When I brought up he needs to go back to college I meant more so he needs to do something productive that will benefit him in the long run.

I came from a family of tradesmen and my father taught me Electrical/HVAC from a very young age. I never went to college I worked my way up from the bottom to a high position in a great company. Even if you don't go you still have to do something. College isn't a black and white kind of thing and It's not for everyone. It certainly doesn't ensure that your going to land your dream job or even a job at all. What it does do is give you greater knowledge required in order to purse your passions and puts you in the right direction to landing that job you want which is extremely valuable. Yes, if you use that knowledge obtained to pursue a career in a job with almost non-existent demand such as "East Asian Studies" It's not going to be easy to find a job.

I think your friend has a stronger chance of getting by lightening 3 times in a day than making a dime in streaming. Even if you was part of the 0000.1% of people that make anything doing it wouldn't be much. Most of the select few people you think are doing well are pulling 20-40k a year at the most (With a few lucky exceptions).

Is that really what he wants to make for the rest of his life? around me that's enough to rent a tiny apartment in a not so great area living paycheck to paycheck. He might as well forget having a wife, children, or any nice things in his life he could never afford that.

And that is like the BEST possible outcome of his plan if he gets lucky. What a glamorous life ?

Most streamers know it's only a temporary gig and do things like going to college in the meanwhile

Not even to mention It's not even a stable job no steady paychecks.

I honestly I think it's one of the worst ideas ever.