The amount of time children spend playing computer games worries a lot of parents. However, some people are making it big just by spending time in front of the screen.
Today, about 65% of Americans play video games, with most gamers being between 18 to 34 years old. In 2022, the market size in the U.S. was estimated at $97.67 billion, and globally, the industry was estimated at $217.06 billion in 2022. This is expected to grow by more than 13% every year through 2030.
Celebrity rappers like T-Pain, Sada Baby, Ice-T and Tee Grizzley jumped on the bandwagon not too long ago. T-Pain recently revealed the amount of money he earns for an hour of playing video games, stating that he makes between $50,000 and $60,000. He compared it to his main hustle — music.
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“When you make $50,000 to $60,000 an hour playing video games in your underwear, it’s hard to justify traveling overseas for work,” T-Pain stated. These numbers are huge, but other celebrity rappers/singers are making more in terms of streaming income.
Tee Grizzley recently shared that he makes millions monthly from his Grand Theft Auto 5 role-playing server, and this is partly through membership fees from the 90,000 users who have joined the server he manages, Hot 97.com reported.
“I’m on the low tier,” T-Pain admitted. “There are people making millions a month. I’m making less than Tee Grizzley. When we talk about hourly rates, I know I’m doing less than him.”
T-Pain, who recently earned a partnership with the interactive livestreaming service platform Twitch, shared how his deals usually work.
“For example, 7-Eleven paid me $250,000 to play any game I wanted for two hours,” the “Buy U a Drank” artist revealed.
“All I have to do during the stream is occasionally say, ‘Hey guys, 7-Eleven has pizza now. Don’t you want a pizza from 7-Eleven? Cool, let’s get back to the game for two hours.’ It’s easy money,” he said. “If you think I’m going to pack clothes, get on a stage for an hour and a half, and sweat it out in a state I’m unfamiliar with instead of staying home and streaming, you’re mistaken.”
In the early 2000s, T-Pain made a grand entry into the music industry with a collaboration with Akon. He later released his debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, in late 2005 which became an instant hit globally. He went on to feature major artists such as Chris Brown, Flo Rida, and DJ Khaled and won the Grammys twice with his collaboration with Jamie Foxx and controversial rapper Kanye West.
His success in the music industry brought in quite a lot of money. In his own words, he became wealthy. However, a series of bad spending habits and investment decisions left him with zero dollars in the bank.
In a startling interview in 2019, the 39-year-old revealed that he had to borrow money from friends to treat his children to a Burger King meal. According to him, he once had $40 million in his account but lost it all due to poor investment decisions and spending habits.
“Now I know what the high end is and what the low end is,” he said in 2019. “I’ve been mega-rich, I’ve been super broke, right in the middle of thinking I was mega-rich, and then got rich again, and you know learned how to really give a s— about money,” the rapper said in an interview with the radio show “The Breakfast Club.”
