As a DJ, you might be wondering what the best music platform is to play your tunes and live stream your sets. Most importantly, you will want to consider what suits you and your needs. Whether it is pursuing a creative hobby or connecting with other DJs. Services like Mixcloud and Twitch have made this easier for you. But, much has been said about whether or not Twitch is good for DJs.

In this article, we highlight the key differences between Mixcloud and Twitch. We highlight the features they offer DJs to live stream music, build their own community, earn income and more.

A platform for DJs, a platform for gamers

Mixcloud is a free music streaming service that allows you to live stream and upload DJ mixes, radio shows and original tracks. Twitch is a free live streaming service used for gaming, sports and other forms of entertainment. Mixcloud is designed for music creators and listeners. Twitch (owned by Amazon) is designed for gamers but has been adopted by DJs.

While both platforms offer the ability to live stream audio and video, Mixcloud enables you to host unlimited archives of mixes, radio shows and the audio from your live streams. That way, you can build a portfolio of your content and grow an audience. Twitch’s live stream functionality is strong with good audience interaction tools. But if you’re on their newly launched DJ Program there is no capacity to archive the video or audio from your live stream or upload content separately. If you’re not, you can archive the video but the music isn’t licensed so risks being taken down.

A key difference between Mixcloud and Twitch is copyright clearance for DJs. Mixcloud is legal and licensed, with blanket copyright clearance for music from major and independent record labels, and original productions. This means you can play any music you like on Mixcloud without fear of muting or takedowns. Twitch’s new DJ Program enables you to play some music legally. But, you must either select songs from their catalog of music or obtain clearance yourself. Otherwise, you risk DMCA takedowns and account enforcement, including strikes and bans. 

Clearing copyright

Mixcloud has been licensing music for over a decade, establishing agreements with all the major record labels – Universal, Sony and Warner – and over 250 independent labels. With these in place, you are entitled to play music of all kinds. To track what is played across the platform, Mixcloud uses audio fingerprinting technology to identify individual songs within every radio show, DJ mix or podcast that is live streamed or uploaded, then reports plays to rights holders. This means your shows and live streams are generally safe from DMCA strikes and the artists and producers whose music you play receive royalty payments. Twitch generally doesn’t allow for the use of music. Much like SoundCloud, it has a copyright detection system monitoring all music used.

Mixcloud Pro

A subscription to Mixcloud Pro unlocks Mixcloud Live, a built-in platform you can use to live stream video and/or audio to your fans, safe in the knowledge that your streams won’t be taken down. Via Pro, you also get access to a full creator toolkit, including:

1. Unlimited uploads, allowing you to host your mixes, shows and your original tracks in one place
2. Monetization via Tips and Creator Subscriptions so that you can make money on Mixcloud
3. In-depth Stats to see who is listening to your shows, where, how long for and more
4. Posts to allow you to share updates with your fans
5. Profile customization and other advanced controls such as scheduling, private links and play count visibility

With these tools, Mixcloud has created a long-term home for what you create. You can express yourself without restrictions, connect with other creators, reach more listeners and monetise your shows. 

Monetization tools

Subscribing to Mixcloud Pro enables you to earn money directly from your DJ mixes and radio shows and fund your creativity. You can earn Tips, which are one-off, peer-to-peer payments for any fan that wants to show you their support. Especially during live streams. 80% of the Tip goes to you and 20% is split between Mixcloud and transaction fees.

Also on Mixcloud, you can build a steady income stream with Creator Subscriptions. These are monthly subscriptions to a creator profile to unlock exclusive content. That way, you can reward your fans with unseen or extended shows, direct messages and special merch. In turn, you receive a regular fee that you can set, starting from £/$/€2.99 a month. 60% of all Creator Subscriptions to your profile go to you after royalties shared with rights holders and transaction costs.

Twitch’s revenue model

But how does Twitch pay you? Its Affiliate Program allows streamers with over 50 followers to earn money through ads, subscriptions and donations via “Bits,” a virtual currency. Revenue splits on Twitch differ depending on which monetisation tools you use. As well as other factors such as region and payment method. After taxes and processing fees are deducted, Twitch pays Affiliates who are not on the DJ Program 50% of the remaining revenue from a subscription. The other 50% goes to Twitch. If you opt into the DJ Program, Twitch deducts another half of your creator earnings to pay musicians and rights holders. Twitch has introduced a one-year subsidy Program to assist creators to adjust to the changes while the DJ Program grows. This subsidy will decrease in stages over the next 12 months, as DJs’ earnings increasingly go towards music licensing costs.

Community connection

Mixcloud has placed community building at the heart of the platform. It enables interaction and communication between users via live chat, comments, shares, favorites and reposts. When live streaming, you and your fans can chat to one another in real time. Discuss tunes, share emojis, inspire one another and grow meaningful communities around your shows.

Posts, Host Tagging and more

A Pro subscription also unlocks Mixcloud Posts, where you can speak to your fans on the platform (with an email also sent to your followers) and define your relationships in fun and creative ways. Announce a new mix or show, share personal news, do a giveaway or simply check-in. These are ways of connecting more deeply with your audience.

Mixcloud’s Host Tagging feature benefits radio stations and DJ collectives. Host Tagging allows you to post one show on multiple profiles. This helps listeners discover your shows and rewards your radio hosts and collaborators with more exposure. Mixcloud Stats allow you to learn more about your community, helping you identify your top listeners and locations. Meanwhile, playlists are a key part of the Mixcloud experience. They allow you to organize and enjoy your favorite selection of shows and share with other users. Mixcloud’s discovery algorithms cater to users based on preferences and listening habits. This helps creators build stronger connections with their listeners. Your live streams and shows are recommended to your followers via their For You page. 

Twitch’s Chat is a central feature of the platform, utilizing emojis, GIFs, community-created icons, and badges. On Twitch, everyone can see the number of concurrent viewers in a stream. On Mixcloud, only the live-streamer can see this number. The public number is a cumulative count of total views on the stream. Some Twitch streamers connect Twitch’s API to third party tools like Nightbot, Stream Overlay and Pixel Chat TV to allow for interactive streams. Now, you might be wondering, can I stream on Mixcloud and Twitch at the same time? The short answer is yes. Mixcloud also allows you to live-stream on Twitch and Facebook while you’re live on Mixcloud, by sending a preview visual using the ‘Promote’ tool. 

Playing music safely

To summarize the differences, Twitch is a video-focused platform built for gamers. As a subsidiary of a larger company (Amazon), it has a broader set of priorities when it comes to users. From gaming streams, esports competitions, and influencers to ASMR creators, outdoor IRL streaming and entertainment shows. Though some DJs have adopted Twitch due to its live stream features, music and DJing is not a central part of the business. DJs are used to experiencing DMCA takedowns, muting and strikes on Twitch because the copyright infrastructure was not made for DJs. Twitch’s new DJ Program goes some way to help that. But it still exposes DJs to licensing issues if they play restricted or non-covered artists. It also limits the Twitch benefits they can access – from monetisation to VODs and Clips.

Whereas Twitch only recently started its DJ Program, Mixcloud is purpose-built for DJs. Mixcloud has spent over a decade putting legal and technical foundations in place to allow DJs, artists, curators and radio stations to express themselves freely, without fear of takedowns or muting. This makes it a more reliable platform to host your live streams and audio recordings long term. As opposed to being solely focused on live video, Mixcloud’s features allow DJs to build a hub for all their creative output. Including mixes, radio shows, original tracks, monetisation, collab shows, emails via Posts, community stats and more.