Credit: Jim Urquhart, Reuters
Live-streaming service Twitch continues to explore the opportunities available in the music scene, today announcing that it is partnering with the Ultra Music Festival to stream three days of electronic dance music to those who can’t be there in person.
It’s a big step for Twitch, as the festival is known for bringing several hundred thousand people to Miami during the city’s music week each year. While you’re not going to get the body-shaking bass of the real thing (unless you have a killer sound system), watching via the stream will save you the $299+ price of entry to the festival.
The move follows a big push by Twitch to get EDM artists on the service as streamers playing video games with their fans and for their music libraries. Electronic dance music shares much of its history with the iconic music in retro games from the 80s and 90s, and artists like Diplo and Skrillex have made time to stream with their respective entourages as well as fans from time to time on Twitch.
Back in January, Twitch launched the Twitch Music Library in partnership with several EDM labels, giving exposure to musicians who don’t mind distributing their music for free and music to streamers looking to add some production value to their videos.
In addition to the appeal of watching your favorite musician play the same games you do when you get home, there’s also a vertical play at work here. Slowly but surely, EDM labels like OWSLA are launching “24/7” (with some rather noticeable down time) music streaming channels on Twitch. As these channels gain traction, it’ll be easier for Twitch to sell brand advertising against this new audience, enabling further opportunities for expansion beyond its core gamers.