Music creators and DJs often get overlooked by publishers and brands aiming to reach new audiences, being overshadowed by the mega reach of gamers and variety content creators. However, musicians offer a massive advantage when promoting a brand or product: They can create transformative art which hooks in audiences. For this reason, musicians and DJs are some of the best streamers to turn to when trying to launch a creative influencer marketing campaign.
In this article, we’re providing some examples of music and DJ streamers that not only have high average audiences tuning in for their content, but who also have a unique style of content to cater to every marketer’s need. Note that we’re only covering music creators who stream here, coming from Twitch or YouTube. The types of music creators we’re looking at include:
- General Musicians
- Gaming Musicians
- Music Stations
TL;DR Takeaways by Stream Hatchet:
- Musicians and DJs offer more than just reach: They can create interesting new activations using their unique skills
- Music streamers tap into different niche audiences, including rappers, DJs, instrumentalists, singers, producers and 24/7 radio stations
- Gen Z and gaming audiences are craving new ways to interact with their favourite online worlds: These creators offer that much-needed bridge
Instrumentalists: Music Creators to Partner With
Instrumentalists have mastery over their instrument, and can typically either create new music or riff on an existing piece. Game publishers in particular have a lot to gain here: By partnering with a talented instrumentalist, they can ask this musician to play a section from their game’s soundtrack and bring it to a wider audience.
Yuyuta Piano (ゆゆうた押忍)
Tokyo-based pianist and variety creator Yuyuta Piano blends virtuoso piano skills with playful, meme-driven performances. He built a massive Japanese fanbase by taking live requests and re-harmonizing anime, J-pop, and game themes, then ported that energy to Twitch where he fields song and game requests in real time. On YouTube, his videos mix high-end piano sessions (including Steinway performances) with viral comedic shorts. This mix of trained pianist and entertainer has propelled Yuyuta to international stardom, bridging between his NicoNico roots and Western-style livestreaming
Matthewkheafy
Best known as frontman for the band Trivium, Japanese-American musician matthewkheafy (Matthew Kiichi Heafy) has turned Twitch into his second stage. He streams near-daily guitar clinics, vocal warm-ups, acoustic sets, and Trivium/Ibaraki material, often alternating between practice routines and fan song requests. His live format helped demystify metal performance (think isolated rhythm drills, harmony breakdowns, and stamina training) while also crossing into game streams with the same studio-like discipline. Heafy credits live streaming with sharpening his technique and widening Trivium’s audience during touring gaps – and there’s no reason he couldn’t bring that same appeal to a game or product as well.
Rappers & Producers: Music Creators to Partner With
Rappers are modern-day lyricists and poets, appealing to a global audience with messages grounded in contemporary themes. Brands or publishers reaching out to rappers and producers can be sure that their messaging will feel culturally relevant, sitting at the forefront of a genre that is evolving just as rapidly as social media.
Plaqueboymax
Streamer-turned-rap curator plaqueboymax built influence by hosting “Song Wars” and “In The Booth,” live formats where emerging MCs record from scratch on stream. Those sessions helped surface underground talent and turned his channel into a discovery hub. In late 2024, he pivoted toward his own releases, dropping his debut mixtape “Five Forever” under the Field Trip Recordings label. The thread across his work is music-first curation: Picking beats, punching-in lines, and finishing tracks live to show audiences how modern hip-hop is actually made.
DDG
DDG (Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr.) parlayed early YouTube momentum into a chart-minded rap career, signing with Epic and launching his Zooted imprint while continuing to put out content as a creator. His breakout singles (“Givenchy”, “Arguments”) and prolific video output built an audience that now follows him across music videos, studio vlogs, and livestreams. DDG’s content ranges across music and lifestyle: Documenting studio life, teasing new tracks, and leveraging creator instincts (hooks, thumbnails, narratives) to market releases as events. He’s emblematic of creator-musicians who treat platforms as both distribution and storytelling, turning followers into first-week listeners through consistent video/music cycles.
DJs: Music Creators to Partner With
DJs are curators, finding new angles on popular tracks and uncovering hidden gems to bring them to a wider audience. A DJ’s set on stream can play for hours on end, giving viewers background music to their days and driving massive exposure. Twitch acknowledged the influence of DJs by giving them their own dedicated category on the platform, highlighting streaming DJs and bringing them larger audiences than ever before.
Nyybeats
Los Angeles-based DJ/producer Nyybeats runs tightly scheduled Twitch sets with house, bass, and genre-flip music, all designed to drive up the energy in chat. As a partner on Twitch, she posts a transparent weekly schedule and treats stream programming like club residencies: Recurring time slots, evolving tracklists, and even little audience rituals to satisfy long-term fans. Off of Twitch, she shares mixes and edits that capture her on-air style, giving fans a way to relisten between streams (not to mention VODs of past streams too). The throughline to her content is upbeat, dance-floor-ready curation with a personable MC vibe.
DirkNeuenfels
Dortmund DJ and entertainer Dirk Neuenfels brings club sensibilities to livestreams, with electronic sets, interactive crowd prompts, and cross-over IRL/gaming segments. His primary and secondary Twitch channels separate marquee shows from off-format content, while YouTube hosts event clips and festival appearances. The musical core is high-energy EDM and festival-style programming tailored to chat: Quick transitions, requested classics, and “party cam” pacing. This hyper-energy content demands the viewer’s full attention, making Dirk as much an entertainer as a DJ.
Big Streamers with Music Interest: Music Creators to Partner With
A number of streamers known for their efforts in other fields (like gaming or IRL content) have begun trying their hand at music: Either playing instruments or, more often, getting into music production. The obvious advantage for publishers and brands here is that these streamers have massive reach: Being willing to fund their burgeoning passion may lead to compelling new activations and show support for the streamer themselves. Additionally, these partnerships may later span into the streamer’s core content as well.
xQc
Though he became famous as a variety gamer, xQc now regularly experiments with music creation on stream. He uses FL Studio to build beats, riff on melodies, and create joke demo tracks under his tongue-in-cheek “DJ Toenail” alter-ego. But his skills are real: These music-centric streams showcase loop selection, drum programming, and arrangement basics in real time, often letting chat steer direction. His frequent beat-making segments have introduced a massive audience to low-pressure music production and reminded viewers that livestreams can double as informal studios.
Aceu
Known mainly for his FPS mastery in Apex Legends, esports pro Aceu has added recurring “DJ on stream” shows where he mixes and chats with viewers. These streams are part vibe set, part community hang that lean into approachable mixing: Track selection, smooth transitions, and crowd-reading via chat. It’s a natural pivot for a creator with timing and flow baked into his gaming brand, and it broadens his channel from pure competitive content to music-forward sessions that feel like an after-hours lounge.
Video Game Composers: Music Creators to Partner With
While IRL streaming is on the rise, Twitch and YouTube still remain as havens for gamers. As younger gamers venture beyond Let’s Play content, they start to look into other aspects of gaming: Animating, programming, and yes: Composing. These video game composers are perfect partners for publishers: Finding a streamer who is just as passionate about the music of your game world as you are is a surefire recipe for a healthy partnership.
Rob Kovacs
Cleveland pianist/composer Rob Kovacs (also known as 88bit) splits his content between original scores (notably for the VR title STRAYLIGHT) and note-for-note solo-piano recreations of classic NES soundtracks. On Twitch and YouTube he treats game music like a repertory: They’re meticulously transcribed, performed, and contextualized with composer credits and hardware constraints. His concert credits span the best-known gaming events in the world, including PAX, MAGFest, and GDC showcases, bringing VGM from its pixel past to recital halls.
GamerComposer (Chase Bethea)
LA-based Chase Bethea, known online as GamerComposer, is a multi-award-winning video game composer and creative/technical music designer who streams composition, sound design, and career Q&As. His music streaming content leans into educational topics to help viewers get into the business, including breakdowns of adaptive systems, instrumentation choices, and implementation workflows. This passion for VGM education extends beyond stream too, with Chase frequently guest-spotting at and taking part in interviews. For creators wanting a glimpse inside the industry, his channel is equal parts portfolio and masterclass in modern game scoring.
Video Game Cover Artists: Music Creators to Partner With
Other streamers are less concerned with making original video game music, and more into honouring their favourite gaming tracks with charming renditions. These covers often put a clever twist on the original song, giving fans a new way to experience the music. Again, game publishers have the most to benefit from partnering with these cover artists, as their skills allow a game’s soundtrack to turn from mere background music into a wholly enjoyable experience on its own.
Smooth McGroove
Smooth McGroove’s (Max Gleason’s) a cappella covers of classic VGM helped define YouTube’s early scene, easily identifiable by his multi-screen setup where each panel sings a different part of the song (i.e., the harmony or the percussion). After early viral success, he briefly paused output… but he’s now actively producing content again, focusing on melody-rich classics. His influence on the VGM scene was rewarded with an inclusion of his cover of LittleBigPlanet’s “Gardens” theme in the official LittleBigPlanet 3 soundtrack. His enduring appeal over more than a decade of content creation is a testament to his skill and his faithful harmonizations.
The8BitDrummer
Jerod “The8BitDrummer” Collins turns Twitch into a live request line: He blasts high-energy drum covers of game themes, anime, and meme songs while bantering with chat. Apart from consistently streaming on Twitch, he also exports highlights of his drumming challenges to YouTube. This format is deceptively demanding: Sight-reading, stamina, and stylistic swings (including chip-tune, double-time, orchestral hits, EDM kicks) put The8BitDrummer’s skills to the test. Add to that his relentlessly upbeat persona, and you have a creator who is considered a staple of the music scene on Twitch.
Musicians Who Also Game: Music Creators to Partner With
Straddling the worlds of pure music enjoyment and video game worship are musicians who just so happen to love gaming. While these musicians don’t restrict themselves to purely creating gaming music, they often play games to keep fans engaged between major releases. Brands and publishers may find these musicians more attractive as partners because of their diverse audiences and their ability to maintain a large fanbase even when they’re not actively creating new music.
LittleBigWhale
LittleBigWhale (AKA Marianne) is a leading French streamer/singer. Beyond gaming, she’s performed at major French charity events like ZEvent and released cover EPs (Coverz, Coverz 2) with producer PV Nova. In 2024 she staged “BroadWhale,” a sing-along concert concept in Paris, later expanding to a mini-tour in 2025. She takes streaming as seriously as her music, being named as a Twitch Ambassador and leveraging this honour to reach an even wider audience. LittleBigWhale is a real renaissance woman, blending streamer credibility with legit stagecraft and recorded releases.
DomPalombi
New Jersey drummer/composer Dom Palombi leads “Game Night!”: A live band project that arranges VGM into funk-fusion jams. On Twitch, he alternates between drumming clinics, arranging streams, and full-band performances, often collaborating with other VGM musicians. As a Rutgers-trained percussionist, Palombi treats charts like living documents: He tests grooves and reharmonizations with chat before taking these arrangements to the stage. His site and socials showcase festival slots and studio work, but Twitch remains the workshop where he involves his audience in the song creation process.
24/7 Music Channels: Music Creators to Partner With
Though these creators may not jump to one’s mind when thinking about music streamers, 24/7 music channels have some of the highest average audiences across the entire gamut of musicians. Often typified as study, workout, or relaxation music, these 24/7 channels become the soundtrack to many listeners’ daily lives. The potential is enormous if a brand or publisher makes a connection with one of these channels and gets featured in their rotating playlist.
Lo-Fi Girl
Here’s a fun fact for you: The infamous Lo-Fi Girl is actually a French channel run by music producer Dmitri Somoguy. Lo-Fi Girl is more than just a whimsical anime girl: The channel is now a French music label and 24/7 radio channel synonymous with the meme “lofi hip hop beats to relax/study to.” The stream’s looping study room animation became an internet icon while the label expanded into compilations and additional radios (including, for example, “synthwave to chill/game to”). The Lo-Fi Girl brand curates thousands of cozy, mid-tempo instrumentals from a global artist roster, functioning as both discovery platform and ambient companion for students, coders, and creators.
Smooth Jazz BGM
A YouTube channel dedicated to long-form smooth-jazz ambience, Smooth Jazz BGM programs hours-long streams for study, work, and relaxation. Most of the songs featured here are saxophone and piano-led instrumentals paired with cozy café or loft visuals, making them ideal for destressing. Behind-the-scenes uploads helpfully explain how the channel composes, arranges, and packages tracks and visuals for 24/7 playback, offering rare transparency into the space. It’s background music by design, but with enough care in arrangement and mix to hold up under focused listening.
24/7 Music Channels Run By Composers: Music Creators to Partner With
Among these 24/7 music channels, some are actually run by composers themselves. These creators take time to craft tracks that can be played for multiple hours at a time, custom-tuning each section to relax the listener. Many of these creators are interested in meditative soundtracks, but it’s possible that brands or publishers could turn this to their advantage: For example, the publisher of a cozy indie game working with a composer to craft long-form relaxation music.
Waters of Heaven
Waters of Heaven features relaxation music by Korean composer PADO, many of whose songs are slow, tonal pieces layered with water sounds for sleep, meditation, and anxiety relief. The channel cycles through a wide array of livestreams for variety, offering functional music with nature-led sound design for long sessions and calm spaces. Waters of Heaven is part of YouTube’s wellness-music ecosystem, but distinguishes itself by foregrounding author-made audio and consistent stream presence, giving listeners a dependable destination for gentle soundscapes.
Tim Janis
American composer Tim Janis runs a sprawling channel of original orchestral and instrumental music designed for peace and focus, often paired with natural cinematography. His uploads emphasize calming themes with strings, piano, and pastoral progressions meant for extended listening while studying or decompressing. Janis treats YouTube like a modern classical salon: Steady releases, seasonal playlists, and recurring live premieres with audience chats have all fostered a loyal fanbase. The result is a catalog that’s both mood-driven and composer-authored, offering an alternative to anonymous ambient feeds by highlighting the person behind the music.
Music Collectives: Music Creators to Partner With
Other channels, primarily those on YouTube, act as hubs for musicians to meet other artists, show off their skills, and prove themselves as emerging talents. These music collectives come in all shapes and sizes, often differentiating themselves by region, genre, or scale. Brands in particular have a lot to gain by partnering with these music collectives, since hardcore music fans frequently turn out here to support their favourite new artists. Support for the platform means support for the artist, and that engenders respect for the brand in the viewer.
Monstercat Silk
Monstercat acquired Silk Music in February 2021, establishing Monstercat “Silk” as its third imprint alongside “Uncaged” and “Instinct”. The brand curates progressive house, trance, ambient, and chillout music, often via 24/7 streams. Silk’s roots stretch back to 2008: Under Monstercat, it retained director Jacob Henry and its artist-friendly, soothing aesthetic while tapping into Monstercat’s scale and gaming partnerships. For creators, Monstercat Silk is a rich source of stream-safe, vibe-consistent music across downtempo and progressive spectrums.
Urban Roosters
Urban Roosters is the production house behind the Freestyle Master Series (FMS), the Spanish-language league that helped professionalize rap battles across Spain and Latin America. On YouTube and Twitch they broadcast season fixtures, World Series events, and freestyler sessions, elevating improvisational rap to stadium-scale spectacles. Musically, the channel is a gateway to live hip-hop performance with DJ cues, prompt-driven beats, and MCs who are judged round-by-round. The league’s growth from national circuits, to international finals, and even 2025’s World Series ambitions, has made Urban Roosters a cornerstone of Spanish hip-hop culture.
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These are, of course, just a couple of examples from each category: There are MANY more creators with specific niches to be discovered who would be perfect for different brands or publishers to partner with.
With Gen Z craving more creative influencer marketing, partnering with these creators who have skills on top of streaming reach could be the way to do it. Consider how your game or product ties into the world of music, and try to pitch a partnership that’s creatively satisfying for the musician too. If you’re considering influencer marketing as a brand, also think about which creator matches your own audience to make sure you get the most out of your collaboration.
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