TY - JOUR AU - Ng, Jason AU - Gamble, Steven PY - 2022/06/04 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Hip-hop producer-hosts, beat battles, and online music production communities on Twitch JF - First Monday JA - FM VL - 27 IS - 6 SE - DO - 10.5210/fm.v27i6.12338 UR - https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/12338 SP - AB - <p class="Paragraph" style="text-indent: 0cm; line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">This article introduces a new creative industry actor, the ‘producer-host’, whose novel cultural practices combine several roles: that of performing artist, music production educator, event manager, livestream broadcaster, and community manager. Producer-hosts use the livestreaming platform Twitch (alongside other digital technologies) to run online beatmaking events with communal and participatory dynamics that indicate expanding uses of streaming platforms. Drawing upon 18 months of ethnography, active community participation, and interviews with three producer-hosts, we provide a nuanced analysis of the political economy of Twitch and developments in the contemporary creative industries during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyse and discuss the outcomes of participation in music production communities on Twitch according to five themes: income and sustainability; personal and professional gratifications; online followings; community identity and belonging; and informal education.</span></p> ER -