“It’s helped me get on the property ladder – I wouldn’t have done so otherwise. I also bought my girlfriend a Mulberry bag.”
Following the rise in popularity of livestreaming platforms such as Facebook Live and Periscope, more millennials are choosing to share private moments of their lives for a slice of mini-stardom. But can it really prove to be a money-maker, too? For every Day there are thousands of others who come away empty-handed. For most it takes time and effort (and perhaps a flash of the flesh helps, too: a cursory tour around seems to indicate that more skin equals more viewers) for the dollar signs to start rolling in. But for those who can command huge audiences, perhaps livestreaming will be the latest internet moneyspinner following the rise of blogging and vlogging as professions over the past decade.
The extra income has helped him save for a deposit for a house
“Live broadcasting is becoming a digital career in the same way YouTube and Instagram are platforms for influencers,” says chief executive, Yuki He. “We have broadcasters earning $20,000 a week or more from virtual gifts, and have heard from many people that they have quit their jobs in order to put more effort into broadcasting and work on it full time.”
A regular YouTuber with more than 100,000 subscribers, Emma Jacobs*, a 29-year-old from London, was recently chosen to become one of the YouNow platform’s 4,000 “partners” – someone able to earn money from fans sending virtual gifts via the app kissbrides.com additional hints. YouNow claims its top broadcasters rake in up to $200,000 a year. Jacobs entertains her audience by livestreaming herself with exotic animals such as meerkats and crocodiles, and her own pets which include snakes and giant cockroaches.