StreamElements announced the winners of its Creator Diversity Fund grants. The livestreaming-services company designed this program to deliver $100,000 worth of mentoring, production, and graphics to content creators from marginalized groups. Now, StreamElements has begun working with 20 broadcasters as part of this effort to promote diversity.
StreamElements chief executive officer Doron Nir wants to use this opportunity to help lift some of the burden on upstart content creators.
“Livestreaming is not an easy profession, and it can be even more daunting for members of underrepresented groups,” said Nir. “Even with the right tools, it is the access to knowledge from experts who believe in them that is hard to come by. With the Creator Diversity Fund our goal is to provide those invaluable industry insights on top of improving all aspects of their channels.”
Here is the full list of the Creator Diversity Fund participants:
- 3llebelle
- Aquarterghost
- BigWillieIsms
- CtrlAltQuin
- DragonQueenTTV
- Flera
- Goofywisetv
- Kilcannon
- KiwiOnTheSticks
- Lucanaii
- MondaScott
- Nelinde
- SheGamerxo
- SpringSims
- StraightOuttaTokyo
- StreetGrind
- Teknikalx
- TiffanyWitcher
- Utxjgthedon
- Zombaekillz
All of these recipients are regular livestreamers on Twitch who want to reach new levels of success. StreamElements can potentially act as an accelerating force to make that happen.
Access to production values and expertise
Personality is what drives video content on the web. Viewers tune in for people as much as they show up to see competent play. Audiences also desire consistency. These are things that livestreamers cannot fake or buy, and StreamElements acknowledges this. At the same time, every advantage in terms of the look and sound of a broadcast can help a talented creator compete with the tens of thousands of competing channels.
“There is no shortcut to success,” said Nir. “But having a roadmap and an aesthetic channel designed for engagement is a great foundation to start with.”
For Utxjgthedon, that’s all he’s looking for.
“Being entertaining is one thing, but high production values is something that only the elite can afford,” he explained to GamesBeat. “Dr. Disrespect was one of the first people I saw with their own transition screens. When I saw that, I instantly wondered how to get something like that.”
But commissioning artists is prohibitively expensive for the majority of channels. As evidence of that, StreamElements valued its Diversity Fund services at $5,000 per person.
“Getting the opportunity to have a team like StreamElements make custom graphics and animations will make my stream pop out like it never has before,” said Utxjgthedon. “Also with their guidance, I can learn how to better grow my channel and further my own personal knowledge in the future.”
Using the StreamElements Creator Diversity Fund to unleash creators
This support also has the potential to free these creators to put the focus on their personalities. Instead of spending precious time learning multiple artistic disciplines to improve their stream, they can instead rely on the know-how of StreamElements.
“I believe that it’s important in streaming to be yourself,” DragonQueenTTV told GamesBeat. “I don’t think people tend to stick around channels simply for gameplay but for the content the streamer provides.”
Even with this help, all of these streamers face the daunting task of slowly building a larger following. But all of them seem to welcome that challenge.
“[It’s] exhausting, but absolutely worth it,” said CtrlAltQuin. “Consistency is a huge part of streaming, and it’s one of the easiest things for me to keep up with since I am very schedule oriented. Streaming is more than just pressing the go live button. You have to be constantly engaged with your community and stream culture. I love engaging and meeting new people as a streamer, but if you don’t practice self care you can get burn out.”
StreamElements doesn’t want that. The company almost never directly charges creators for its services. Instead, its business model works by bringing in revenue from brands and sponsorships. But that can only work if livestreamers are healthy and growing.
To that end, the company is providing each Diversity Fund creator with a personal account manager. They also get access to StreamElements’ private “DreamTeam” Discord that it uses for its biggest partners.
Hopefully, this help can have a boosting effect on the support network that already exists for Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ individuals.
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