If you are an active streamer, I can only imagine how often you have incorporated music into your streams. Adding music can be an enjoyable aspect of streaming, whether you play background music or if you are a DJ using your own mixers and DJ sets.
Key Takeaway
Be extremely, extremely cautious about copyright rules; violating them can result in losing your channel.
Frankly, you could manage all this without any issues until recently. Now, things are not as transparent. More than ever, we have to adhere to these “new Twitch music rules.”
Here, I will clarify things to the best of my ability and help you understand everything so you can have an enjoyable Twitch experience.
Table of Contents
Important Things to Know About DMCA Takedowns
Let’s begin by explaining what the DMCA actually is. The DMCA, or Digital Millennium Copyright Act, was enacted in 1998 to protect creators and ensure that individuals do not use their music or videos without permission.
The DMCA allows someone who has created a song or video to identify unfair use of their content and request compensation or removal. This is precisely what is occurring here on Twitch.
Many creators or the companies that represent their intellectual property rights are no longer permitting the use of their music without compensation.
Why is this happening now?
Your next question might be: Why is this happening now? The answer is quite simple. Years ago, Twitch simply wasn’t significant enough, and as a result, rights holders either didn’t care much about it or, in many cases, were even unaware of its existence.
Clearly, that has not been the case for some time now, which has been a significant issue in mainstream discussions for several years.
Above all, Twitch has not changed significantly over the last few years. As far as I know, its terms of service regarding music remain the same. What is different now is that rights holders appear to be more aggressive.
All of this is occurring now, rather than seven years ago, due to the significantly greater popularity of Twitch and improved awareness among individuals who can enforce their rights concerning their music.
Things That Went Wrong When All This Happened
When Twitch began to enforce this, all of their content creators panicked. You can’t really blame them; as I mentioned earlier, Twitch had not paid much attention to copyright laws in the past.
I assume that was because they were still a smaller company and believed they could get away with it. Consequently, as the company grew, so did the ambiguity surrounding the copyright rules.
Now, all the content creators who were playing music on Twitch without the necessary rights are having their content removed. I must say that this is unfair, especially since Twitch did not provide any notice on this issue until it was too late.
Now, many creators are worried that their content could be removed and their income diminished simply because they used background music they shouldn’t have.
Not only can your content be removed, but you can also lose your entire account. How is that possible, you may ask? When you violate copyright law, you can receive a copyright strike on your account, and after three strikes, you are out of the picture.
This means that your Twitch account can be deleted, which can be devastating for some individuals, especially the biggest names on the platform.
And yes, all this is happening even though people have been playing music on their live streams all the time, which has been considered the norm for years. What’s “funny” about this is that it has always been more or less illegal.
What strikes me most about this situation is the overwhelming number of strikes we observed over a certain period. This led me to suspect that Twitch may have begun automating its checks for copyright infringement, similar to what YouTube has been doing for years.
Related: Best Copyright Free Music for Twitch
Important Things to Know About Twitch Music Rules
Okay, I understand that was a lot of information about copyright law and copyrighted music on Twitch, but I felt it was necessary to bring you up to speed. So, what does this actually mean for Twitch, live streaming, and, of course, for all you streamers out there?
Here, I will present three important Twitch music rules to ensure you never have to ask, “Can I play music on Twitch?” and avoid issues with copyrighted music:
If your question is: can I play Spotify on Twitch or any other music that you purchased (iTunes, etc.)? The answer is no. By purchasing music from these platforms, you only obtain the license to listen to that music, not to distribute it.
Therefore, if you want to play music on Twitch, you must follow the three steps outlined above, so choose your playlist wisely.
The alarming aspect of this situation is that the law currently in force is over 20 years old; it simply does not adapt quickly enough. Some lawyers examining this specific issue assert that the law is undoubtedly lagging behind.
In this instance, the issue is that Twitch could ban individuals for copyright infringement. However, there are various ways to modify copyright laws so that activities during streaming do not constitute an infringement of copyright.
What concerns me is that this issue may extend beyond just VODs and clips, as companies like Warner have invested in software capable of detecting DMCA violations in real time.
This means that some of these takedowns could occur live. So, ask yourself: can you actually play music on Twitch?
The reality is that this situation could easily deteriorate before it improves. Honestly, I believe it may be time for Twitch to take more responsibility here.
As part of the DMCA, Twitch, as a streaming platform, is required to inform its creators about their responsibilities regarding intellectual property. However, aside from FAQ-style guidelines, they do not provide much additional assistance.
If you are a 17-year-old starting on Twitch, how are you supposed to know any of this? The challenge with these legal matters is that this law is 20 years old; they had no idea that in 20 years, people would be streaming on Twitch and playing Fortnite with music at the age of 15.
A significant reason they refrain from taking action is that, to uphold the notion that they are not liable for various issues and are merely a passive platform, they fear exerting too much affirmative control in situations like this.
For years, this has been occurring—thousands of hours of people playing music with minimal IP enforcement. The only consequence was that your VODs were muted.
Essentially, Twitch has kept their content creators uninformed about the music situation for years, and clearly, the streamers themselves share some responsibility as well.
However, when you consider this platform, it has been generating millions of dollars, and the least they could do is suggest to that 17-year-old kid that he might want to play Drake’s latest song on his Twitch channel while enjoying his favorite video game.
How to Avoid Spending Money on Licensed Music
I assume the first thing that comes to mind is: How can I adhere to all these guidelines, and what music can I play on Twitch without incurring significant costs for licenses that can amount to several thousand dollars, depending on the artist?
Fortunately, there is a company that acts as a middleman, handling the work for you. This company is called Royalty free music. Essentially, they establish relationships with artists and record labels, purchasing music from them and then selling it to you at a significantly reduced price.
With them, you can easily adhere to all Twitch music rules, ensuring that your subscribers have the best possible experience while watching you.
Additionally, all of you Twitch streamers can search YouTube for “copyright-free music.” There, you will find entire channels offering free music that you can use without violating Twitch’s DMCA terms.
Conclusion
I sincerely hope this has assisted you in better understanding how to play music on Twitch, as well as how to incorporate music into your Twitch stream, and more.
I understand that Twitch’s ban on music has been challenging for all of us. However, despite this Twitch music ban, we must remain resilient and adhere to the music guidelines provided to us. Best of luck, and thank you once again.
Related: Twitch Chat Rules – Top Basic and Custom Chat Rules
