The German streamer ELoTRiX became a phenomenon on the internet years ago thanks to his rants. Now he spoke about Twitch wanting to cut 20% of his earnings in the future. But this met with incomprehension from an average earner, and suddenly the old ELoTRiX was back.
What has ELoTRiX made a name for?
- The now 29-year-old Twitch streamer was one of the first major shooter YouTubers in Germany in 2011.
- Back then, he was known for “commentary videos”: Even though Call of Duty was the gameplay, the YouTuber told a story from his life, often got really into it, and lost control easily.
- The streamer has always had an excellent vocal melody, even if he tends to slip into vulgarity and shout.
If ELoTRiX hadn’t constantly disappeared for long periods, he would likely have had a similar career as his friend “MontanaBlack” over the last 10 years:
The average earner has no understanding for the complaints of Twitch streamers
What is ELoTRiX complaining about now? Big Twitch streamers like ELoTRiX currently receive 70% of their earnings on Twitch. Starting in June 2023, their share will drop to 50% – Twitch keeps the rest. The livestreaming website is part of the Amazon group.
In one of his Twitch streams, ELoTRiX explains it’s like if an employer said: In three-quarters of a year you’ll get 20% less salary. Because the employer would prefer to pocket the money themselves.
But in the chat, a user wrote; “Bro, you can’t compare that to our measly 2k a month”.
And suddenly the old ELoTRiX was back. With his finger pointing at the camera, he shouted: “Yes, I can compare that, Tomahawk! Don’t make me aggressive.”
In a 30-second rant, the 29-year-old streamer complained: The “money-hungry son of a bitch of a boss” wouldn’t put the withheld money into employees’ pensions or better equipment, but instead “ZAPPZARAPP” into his own pocket.
Here it’s about making the “fat asses” of Amazon’s shareholders even richer. “Colleague Schnürschuh” should understand that.
Is he right?? Well, one has to say: That Twitch streamers, even if they like to see it that way, are not employees of Twitch, but self-employed individuals using Amazon’s streaming platform. They do have exclusive contracts but enjoy freedoms that employees of a company do not have.
In ELoTRiX’s stream, ads from “YFood” are displayed – so he is also running private sponsor deals that he promotes via Twitch, which Twitch probably has nothing to do with.
According to Twitch, providing bandwidth for only 30% of the earnings just doesn’t make sense. They calculated it, and it doesn’t work, which is why they have to raise prices.
Nonetheless, ELoTRiX’s frustration is understandable.
