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Bandsintown helps musicians make money with Twitch concerts

Artists might still make a living while COVID-19 keeps them at home.

Bandsintown wants to help musicians pull in money during the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to promoting their shows. The discovery service is giving artists free, "fast-tracked" access to Twitch's monetization systems to help them generate money from livestreamed concerts. If all goes well, they'll quickly get affiliate status on Twitch and thus make money from subscriptions and bit donations. Performers will need to have 2,000 or more Bandsintown followers and a link to their Twitch channel in their Bandsintown profile. After filling out a form, they should get affiliate status in two to five business days.

This isn't as ideal as getting partner status, and the odds are that an artist will want more than subscriptions and bits to generate income (such as direct donations or a Patreon account). It's a start, though, and it could be particularly helpful to up-and-comers that don't have the luxury of waiting for live venues to re-open their doors.