It’s the end of an era for celebrity YouTuber PewDiePie as he confirmed that YouTube is no longer his go-to destination for live streaming new content. He is ditching the world’s largest online video streaming network in favor of DLive, a new blockchain-powered live streaming platform.
The change will come into effect from Sunday, Apr 14, when the “exclusive” live streaming deal between PewDiePie and DLive goes live.
What Is DLive?
DLive touts itself as a next-generation live streaming platform that takes advantage of the disruptive nature of blockchain technology to incentivizes both content creators and viewers. The rewards/incentives are distributed among creators and viewers using Lino, an ERC-20 token inherent to the blockchain powering the network.
Owned by US-based decentralized autonomous video startup Lino Network, DLive raised $20 million in a private token sale last year to build its proprietary video distribution network using blockchain.
Limo Network founder Wilson Wei said at the time:
“We believe that blockchain has enormous potential to empower video creators by decentralizing how their content is distributed and ensuring that their earnings go directly into their pockets.”
“We want to eliminate the middlemen in video streaming.”
The biggest perk of signing up with DLive if you’re a content creator is that the platform doesn’t take any cut of your earning. That’s radically different from how other similar platforms including the likes of YouTube and Twitch operate.
With Twitch, for example, you have to split your revenue 50/50 initially. That arrangement changes only when you become partnered and subsequently in a position to negotiate a better contract. YouTube isn’t much different either.
Currently the largest video streaming platform in the world, YouTube has faced a lot of criticism recently because of its new monetization policy that came as a setback for most content creators.
Under prevailing circumstances, it’s not unusual to think that DLive could emerge a credible alternative to more established platforms such as Twitch over time by developing a loyal fanbase.
As a creator-driven platform, it seems to have at least got the basics right by prioritizing and empowering content creators — which is clearly something the bigger players in the game have ignored for far too long now.
Poaching PewDiePie Is Definitely a Big Boost for DLive
29-year old PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, is currently the world’s most popular YouTuber by subscriber numbers.
The Sweden-born vlogger has just under 94 million subscribers at press time, of which a large chunk counts as a dedicated fanbase. That’s evident from the fact that his recent-most video racked up more than four million views in less than 24 hours.
Clearly, a lot of these hardcore PewDiePie fans are likely to join DLive now as their favorite vlogger jumps ships.
Wilson Wei welcomed the new development by saying:
“PewDiePie has always been a fierce advocate for the value that creators bring with their hard work, time, and effort, and he believes in DLive’s vision. Our live streaming platform has the potential to forever change how creators are represented in this industry, and we’re proud to have PewDiePie help us lead this charge.”
Meanwhile, adding more to DLive’s charm, PewDiePie announced that he will be donating up to $50,000 to a maximum of 100 creators on the platform.
