The influence of professional gamers and other streaming personalities has grown exponentially throughout the last decade. Trendsetters like Tyler "Ninja" Blevins have shattered the barrier between "Internet fame" and genuine, mainstream celebrity. But Twitch and YouTube's business models have their drawbacks, likely needing serious changes in the coming years. One potential catalyst for change is competition, and the forthcoming streaming platform Galaxis could shake things up.
One hallmark of Galaxis is a streamlined copyright licensing system that automatically deducts proceeds from the channel using materials, according to CEO Max Gallardo, which could aleviate many of the bulk copyright strike content bans that have plagued creators. That alone could make waves in the industry, but arguably the platform's largest change is in how it approaches corporate contracts. Game Rant spoke with Gallardo about the features he hopes will set his streaming platform apart from current industry giants YouTube and Twitch.
Sponsorship In Seconds
Gallardo asserts that the streaming industry's current paradigm contributes to a culture of overwork and creative burn-out. In the current model, the work week for creators starts at 40 hours and can reach 80. According to Gallardo, the way Galaxis handles sponsorship could lead to a whole new paradigm of content creation.
"The current way is by donations, advertising, and hopefully, sometimes, sponsorships. What we do, is make it a lot easier - so much easier - for companies to get involved with creators by accessing a creator marketplace. Sponsors can strike up a contract with creators within seconds."
If content creators can truly secure corporate sponsorships within seconds without going through an agent or lawyers, Galaxis may be a big innovation. Gallardo used to work as a marketing director, and is well-acquainted with the process of negotiating influencer sponsorships. Such deals can take months and must be written up on a channel-by-channel basis. Furthermore, sponsorships are generally only offered to esports professionals and streaming personalities who have already hit their stride.
Establishing a marketplace where companies can reliably find and sponsor content creators expediently could be a game-changer. But the task won't be a simple one. The agencies and professionals that Gallardo refers to as "middle men" have persisted to the present for a variety of reasons, and streamlining the contract negotiation process will require tremendous feats of automation and a highly flexible framework to accomodate corporate conditions.
Avoiding the Content Crush
One reason the current model is so cutthroat and labor intensive, in Gallardo's opinion, is that every second a streamer spends off-stream limits their opportunities to make money. Donations are the primary revenue source for most streamers, who must not only compete for general viewership, but limited sponsorship opportunities.
"The more content there is though, the thinner the ad dollars are stretched. Everybody is rushing for the same metro gate, struggling to make it through that tiny hole. It’s really hard for everybody to make it at once, because they are competing with each other and knocking each other out of the ring."
Gallardo's metaphor calls a game of Fall Guys to mind. While there is no limit to content demand, there are only so many crowns to be had. A change to the sponsorship model could allow streamers to make fixed rates of income for an agreed-upon amount of work, whether it is a certain number of hours on stream or a certain number of videos produced per-week.
This would allow streamers to budget more personal time, mental health breaks, and might help alleviate creative burn-out among streamers. It could also help improve the general quality of content. Gallardo's metro-gate crush metaphor suggests the only winning play is to aggressively broadcast, prioritizing volume over quality. Streamers succeed on the strength of their personalities as much, if not more, than their abilities. Having more time off to plan out content - or simply rest between work - would likely result in more engaging streams overall.
Seeking Funding
Gallardo's vision for a streaming platform is nothing if not ambitious, but Galaxis isn't up and running yet, and delivering on its big ideas will not come cheap. Consequently, Gallardo said the company is currently seeking a round of investments in preparation for its potential launch early next year.
Even though the platform is fighting long odds and two established competitors backed by Amazon and Google, the potential return on investment may be worth the gambit. Influencer marketing is growing at a meteroic rate compared to other traditional marketing formats. Making sponsorships more readily attainable could force multiply that growth, and change the face of streaming.
Galaxis is currently seeking funding to fuel its prospective Q1 2022 launch.