Concert notification service Bandsintown has partnered with Twitch to help out artists who are unable to tour because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The partnership lets qualified Bandsintown artists bypass the normal qualifications needed to become a Twitch Affiliate and get fast access to the live streaming platform's monetization tools.

Canceled events are a blow to musicians who depend on income from live shows, and many have turned to "quaranstreams" to try and alleviate the financial damage. SoundCloud recently announced a similar initiative with Twitch.

Bandsintown artists with 2,000 trackers or more are eligible to apply. You'll then have to create a Twitch channel, link it on your artist profile on the platform, and fill out a short form. (It's linked in Bandsintown's post.) Once submitted, the company says Twitch's Affiliation program will contact you by email within two to five business days to get any other details needed to upgrade your account.

with tours canceled, many musicians have started "quaranstreams"

Affiliate status on Twitch unlocks monetization tools, like subscriptions and the ability to receive tips. Getting fast Affiliate approval can help out artists who need to create additional income now, with swaths of the entertainment industry ground to a halt as a result of the pandemic.

Normally, in order to qualify for Affiliate status, a Twitch user must have at least 50 followers along with at least 500 total broadcast minutes in the last 30 days, seven unique broadcast days in the last 30 days, and an average of three concurrent viewers or more in the last 30 days. This program, like the one between Twitch and SoundCloud, lets artists bypass these hurdles so they can monetize on Twitch within days.

"Twitch continues to be a great place for artists to perform and connect with their fans live," said Mike Olson, Twitch's head of music, said in a statement. "We're excited to partner with Bandsintown to provide artists not only the best live streaming experience, but an opportunity for our community to support them with monetization tools that aren't offered elsewhere."

Bandsintown also recently launched its own Twitch channel and added the ability to push out a "watch live" notification when musicians are live-streaming shows. These notifications will show up on Bandsintown, as well as Facebook pages and anywhere else Bandsintown listings appear.

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