Twitch Reportedly Considering Cutting Streamer Pay to Boost Its Own Profits

It is shaping up to be a rough year for content creators and sellers trying to make money through major tech platforms. New pay cuts may be on the way for sellers on Amazon and Etsy.

According to a new report, the company wants to encourage streamers to run more ads in order to reduce the portion of subscription fees allocated to performers. The site's top streamers would see their share of subscriptions decline from 70% to 50%, according to the report. Multiple pay tiers with different criteria are being considered by the company. The changes are intended to boost the profitability of the service, but it could come at the expense of the community's most active users.

Gizmodo's request for comment was not immediately responded to.

The company may consider easing up on its exclusivity restrictions, which would allow creators to stream on other platforms and potentially rake in some additional income there as well.

There is a time of change at twitch. On the other hand, the company is riding high on a surge in viewers. According to GlobalWebIndex data viewed by Insider Intelligence, some 24% of U.S. internet users between the ages of 16 to 64 said they began watching more live streams during the Pandemic. Even with the increase in eyeballs, the company is reeling from a mass of employees disappointed in the direction of the company. Some 300 employees left last year, with another 60 leaving in the first three months of the year. Some of the top creators have left. Two prominent streamers left the site for rival sites in the past year.

Big Tech bosses are bracing for a financial squeeze from streamers.

Fuel and inflation surcharge will be added to third party sellers who use the company's fulfillment centers as a way to offset increased costs. Increased hourly wages, construction costs, and new hires during the Pandemic were all to blame for the increased price hikes, according to a notice seen by the Associated Press. Amazon wasn't really struggling as a company during the Pandemic. The company posted a record $108 billion in revenue in the first quarter of the year, which is nearly triple the revenue from the previous year.

The sellers went on strike and issued a boycott over the increases to their fees. The seller fee would be raised from 5% to 6.5% if the seller transaction fees were increased by 30%.