Twitch streamer Trainwreck is sharing details regarding crypto-backed budding streaming platform Kick.com's planned Creator Program. Kick is currently making an effort to compete with streaming industry leader Twitch and its streamer revenue share and payment systems lie at the heart of persuading talent to come to the platform. Finally getting into specific details, Kick representative Trainwreck says its Creator Program will deliver an hourly wage to streamer whether they're big or small.
While Kick.com has known about going back into December, Kick.com was officially introduced by Trainwreck over the past two weeks. The announcement of the platform confirmed the involvement of the founders of cryptocurrency gambling sites Stake and EasyGo, though those websites are not directly involved with Kick -- only their founders. The ownership of Kick has been a matter of some confusion, as has Trainwreck's personal involvement in the platform. Regardless, there's some question regarding whether Kick is being made in response to Twitch's 2022 effort to ban unlicensed gambling.
Whatever the ownership of Kick's priorities may be, the platform believes it has a unique opportunity to compete with Twitch through how it pays and supports streamers. In a lengthy post on Twitter, Trainwreck detailed its planned Kick Creator Program. The Creator Program will pay streamers hourly, whether they have "1 viewer or 100,000." Pay will be based on hours spent streaming, a flat rate based on advertising CPMs, average viewers, and viewer demographics and engagement.
Trainwreck also notes that the Creator Program's hourly pay will not replace other streaming income venues on Kick. It exists in addition to ad programs, as well as subscription revenue share, which Trainwreck has previously confirmed is 95% streamer, 5% Kick. 100% of donations made through Kick will also go directly to the streamer.
There is a catch, however. Trainwreck says that it will have two payout systems that streamers will be forced to use. The first is through the crypto-friendly payment processing platform Stripe once per month, or alternatively via same-day payments of Bitcoin or Ethereum. Some are saying this is a red flag, but others may see it as a boon.
Needless to say, as impressive as Trainwreck's pitch for the Kick Creator Program may be, there are many questions left to be answered regarding the nature of Kick itself. Trainwreck's personal history with gambling streams and cryptocurrency stand out. Trainwreck does make one very good argument, though, which is that there are many streamers on Twitch who receive virtually no support from the platform and perhaps never will. They have nothing to lose by trying Kick, and it may be the exact opportunity some streamers are looking for.