Is Being a Streamer Easy?
In agreements between agencies and streamers, labor relationships are generally excluded, establishing an exclusive cooperation relationship. Agencies often embed traps in these contracts: for instance, if revenue reaches a certain threshold, or if the streamer fails to request non-renewal two or one months before contract expiration, the contract automatically renews for another two years. Penalties for breach of contract are typically set excessively high—some contracts specify absurd figures like 10 million or 20 million RMB, which the agency may indeed enforce in subsequent claims. Other misleading clauses are also common, such as penalties calculated at 36x, 72x, or some multiple of the highest monthly revenue; these can be even more devastating.
Agencies have a very high success rate when filing lawsuits—while not 100%, it's well over 90%. Streamers hold virtually no advantage; conservatively, about 90% end up having to pay compensation. The median awarded damages are typically around 200,000 RMB (paid by the streamer to the agency), with most judgments falling between 100,000 and 200,000 RMB. Judges usually strike a balance: the streamer should not profit from breaching the contract, as that would encourage widespread contractual disobedience; yet the agency also shouldn't exploit overly favorable contract terms to gain excessive benefits.
It's crucial to keep a signed copy of the contract. Many live-streaming companies collect all contracts and return none to the streamer, leaving many without any contract to produce when disputes arise.
Agencies also rigidly stipulate streaming hours—commonly six hours per day, 25 or 26 days per month. In reality, streamers often fail to meet these requirements, constituting a breach.
Regarding income, the prevalent revenue-sharing model takes roughly half of the platform's cut first. Of the remaining 50%, streamers typically receive about 35%, while the agency takes the rest. Top streamers on the platform account for only around 0.1%; everyone else shares the remaining 99.9%. Most live streams attract no more than ten viewers, sometimes only three to five. (This may reflect that most Chinese people are working jobs rather than casually watching streams during work hours.)
Streamers are generally young, mostly aged 20 to 35, with the most common range being 20 to 28. Male streamers make up less than 5% of female streamers. Chat/streamers based on appearance are the largest category, followed by gaming streamers as the second most common.