Attack on Twitch and Youtube
Kick lures top streamer MontanaBlack with millions – but he waves it off
MontanaBlack, here at the TV Total Wok World Championship, could have switched to Kick for what is believed to be a lot of money.
© Imago Images
Millions of people follow streamers like MontanaBlack on Twitch and Youtube. For a long time, the market was considered divided. But now a financially strong – and controversial – player is joining Kick.
Marcel Eris knows about Shitstorms. He is considered the bad boy of the streamer scene, not only visually thanks to his many tattoos, but also through his demeanor. Eris is short-tempered, emotional and outspoken. That makes him vulnerable, but also interesting for many people. On Twitch and Youtube, where Eris appears as “MontanaBlack”, he is followed by more than eight million people combined. Eris became known as a gamer who shows himself playing games on the Internet. Eris was criticized, among other things, because he repeatedly streamed games of chance.
It’s been different for a year and a half. Monte, as his fans call him, had banned online casino streams from his schedule, since then the criticism has waned. And last week he showed how important calm and the new image are to him. Eris had received a lucrative offer: from now on he was to stream on Kick for a double-digit million sum, a new platform that is currently causing a sensation worldwide. But Eris turned down the offer because Kick makes most of his money from online gambling.
Largest streamer in the world already changed
For many years, the streaming market was considered divided, and the market power of YouTube and Twitch, which belong to the tech giants Alphabet and Amazon, seemed too great. However, the fact that someone like Eris is now receiving such a huge offer from an up-and-coming competitor shows how much movement there is in the market at once. Kick has declared war on Twitch – and is making amazing progress so far. Ninja, the biggest streamer in the world, has already changed – fee unknown. xQc changed for a rumored $100 million. And figurehead Adin Ross is said to be getting almost $75 million a year.
There are two main reasons why the entire streamer community has not long since moved to Kick with these sums. One has to do with the range: the streamers would have to start again from scratch on Kick. The second reason has to do with Kick’s business model – the platform was backed and built on casino money. This is not justifiable – but because many viewers are minors, the streamers make themselves at least morally vulnerable, which in turn could deter potential advertising partners. The change could therefore be disadvantageous in the long term.
As Eris put it on Twitch, “If Uncle Monte switched from Twitch to Kick – phew, holy shit – trust me, it would make waves. […] I don’t feel like being the scapegoat and being babbled on again about moving to a platform that’s been backed and built by casino money.” In the long run, Eris says, it won’t pay for his brand or his well-being.”All the brand safety – and that is also important for future projects – all the good image, my positive change in character, from the appearance in my stream. I haven’t had a headache for a year and a half, not a big shitstorm,” says Eris – and he doesn’t want that anymore either.
Other streamers also share the criticism. Papaplatte, who has 1.8 million Twitch followers, called the kick streamer “rabble”. The world’s largest streamer Pokimane (9.3 million followers) criticized: “Why should I give up my morals and ethics for money when I have money? Something about it is so cringe for me personally.”
Kick is powered by Stake.com
There is little criticism of the technical implementation of the platform. This is also due to the fact that it hardly differs from Twitch and Co. This makes it easier for users to switch. The criticism primarily relates to the company: Kick is based in Melbourne, Australia and went on the market in December 2022. Behind Kick is the developer company Easygo Entertainment, which specializes primarily in casino and gambling. Easygo is managed by Brais Pena Sánchez, but the company is two-thirds owned by Bijan Tehrani and one-third owned by a firm called Ashwood Holdings, which is wholly owned by Edward Craven. Tehrani and Craven co-founded the gambling company Stake.com and are believed to be Australia’s youngest self-made billionaires. About 400 million US dollars are turned over daily via Stake. According to their own statements, the company achieved a profit of around one billion dollars in 2022. Therani and Craven therefore have sufficient capital.
The fact that German streamers like OrangeMorange or Scurrows recently switched to Kick is not only due to the many millions, but also to stricter guidelines at Twitch. Recently, several creators there have received bans for streaming casino games. This is not a problem with Kick. In addition, many quarrel with the high profit shares that accrue at Twitch. Streamers only receive 70 percent of their earnings there, and if they ever exceed $100,000, only 50 percent. On YouTube it is at least 70 percent and on Kick even 95 percent.
“Can understand that people keep the saber”
Kick is now exploiting this frustration among streamers. “The more successful you become on Twitch, the less motivation you have to be successful, because then you just have to shoot 20 percent more,” criticizes Eris. The more Twitch keeps for himself, the more he, MontanaBlack, has to be careful what he says. After all, he is all the more dependent on external partners who pay attention to his statements. “I can understand people holding the saber,” says Eris. Ultimately, however, this led to the gradual decline of the platform.
This article first appeared on Capital.