A full-time content creator is sparking a colorful conversation online after revealing he makes more streaming on TikTok than Twitch.
Streamers’ income has been a hot topic of debate over the years, especially when large creators accidentally leak their own earnings.
Even small streamers’ salaries can come as a surprise to viewers — but one influencer is raising eyebrows thanks to the substantial difference he makes between two different platforms.
On September 2, streamer IceTalks published a tweet where he revealed the amount of money he made in August. IceTalks streams on both Twitch and TikTok, and also makes other content that he monetizes.
All told, he brought in $7,945.94 — but the lion’s share of this cash came from TikTok. The streamer claimed he made $2,959.84 from Twitch and $4,413.04 from TikTok, with $573.06 coming from his other user-generated content.
As a Full Time Creator, here’s my pay transparency for the month of August:⇢ Twitch: $2,959.84⇢ TikTok: $4,413.04⇢ Sponsorships: $0⇢ UGC Content: $573.06⇢ Total: $7,945.94⇢ Taxes (30% self employment): $2,383.78✅Total Take Home: $5,562.16Happy to discuss!
— IceTalks (@itsicetalks) September 2, 2024
This came as a surprise to viewers, as IceTalks made nearly twice the amount of money streaming on TikTok as he did on Twitch. To add to this, he says he only streams to an average of 143 concurrent viewers on TikTok, with about 95 CCV on Twitch.
As proven by screenshots, IceTalks’ TikTok revenue mostly comes from Live Gifts, with a smaller portion stemming from Subscriptions. In comparison, the bulk of his Twitch income is thanks to subscriptions.
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Going live, you can see the breakdown here. Gifts and subs! pic.twitter.com/Yeceuf4d5c
— IceTalks (@itsicetalks) September 3, 2024
IceTalks’ tweet about his earnings has received quite a bit of engagement as curious users express shock that his payout from TikTok was so big.
“I always heard monetization on TikTok was extremely low, but this seems to be your biggest avenue of revenue? Did they change things?” one commenter asked.
“Not really – going live is the big monetization,” he answered. “I make very little off of short form content.”
Not really – going live is the big monetization – I make very little off of short form content
— IceTalks (@itsicetalks) September 3, 2024
Creators have been outspoken in the past about the low amount of money they make on TikTok as opposed to other platforms. In 2023, KSI claimed he only made £3000 ($3,800) on TikTok, despite boasting “9.2 million followers, 70 million likes, and 200+ million views” at the time.
While each platform has its own pros and cons, this discussion adds to the ongoing debate surrounding multi-streaming, which sparked after TimTheTatMan and DrLupo began branching out from their YouTube exclusivity to Twitch, as well.
The conversation has been a heated one, and not every top streamer agrees it’s a good strategy — but looking at IceTalks’ salary, it’s safe to say that it might be in broadcasters’ best interests to diversify their streams.