When users stream copyrighted content, their accounts can be put at risk, as Twitch operates on a “three strikes you’re out” policy most often. The situation worsened last summer when Twitch issued massive waves of DMCA strikes, leading to streamers scrambling to delete old videos with little context. More recently, Twitch again announced it had received more DMCA takedown notifications, totaling about 1000 individual claims from music publishers. Here’s a list of ways to avoid DMCA issues, ranging from Twitch’s own solutions to more creative ones.
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1. Don’t Play Copyrighted Music or Content
To the disappointment of many streamers, Twitch’s best options for streamers is just to not stream copyrighted music or content. It’s a solution the company has reiterated once again after announcing the new wave of DMCA takedowns. Streamers are understandably frustrated that Twitch, the biggest name in the streaming biz, isn’t creating more solutions for its platform’s users. At best, not playing copyrighted music is a good rule of thumb when creating any content online. Other material like videos or another streamer’s content could be subject to copyright enforcement, too. As usual, it is often wise to follow the idea of “better safe than sorry.”
Some games that play copyrighted music have settings for streamers, allowing them to turn off copyrighted material. This could be a good solution for streamers that want to play Grand Theft Auto or Cyberpunk 2077. However, for some games like Fuser or Guitar Hero, that really isn’t an option. Although, some streamers have made fun of the situation by playing games like Guitar Hero in a “DMCA-safe” way. While it’s simple to say “don’t play copyrighted content,” streamers often use background music for various reasons, so other solutions are necessary.
2. Seek out Permissions to Play Music
One path that streamers can take to avoid DMCA takedowns is to get permission to play music from the artist or rights holder. This won’t be an immediate solution, as researching who owns the rights to a song and then reaching out to them can be a lengthy process, especially if it ends with a “no.” On the bright side, there are some artists who are more forthcoming about giving permission to stream their music and will post on their social media in that regard.
Artists may also be more inclined to listen to more successful streamers. For example, NICKMERCS reached out to Drake to ask to play the rapper’s music on his stream and got an affirmative. Along the same lines as getting permission to use a song, streamers can also purchase rights to use copyrighted content in certain contexts. For uber-successful streamers, like xQc, that can buy out rights to a song, this is in the realm of possibility. For the average streamer, however, it’s nigh impossible.
3. Use Copyright-Free Music
Since getting permission to use a song or buying rights to copyrighted content is unlikely for most streamers, using copyright-free music is a perfect solution. As streaming and content creation has boomed over the last decade, several artists have created copyright-free music to give people more options for background music. There are plenty of soundtracks on music platforms like Spotify or YouTube that are specifically curated for streamers, and feature a variety of genres from lo-fi to rock to classical. While some artists or groups require a monthly subscription to stream their music, like Epidemic Sound, there are plenty of free options as well.
Here are a few places to check for music to use:
Audio Library Plus Epidemic Sound Monstercat Pizzle Pack by T-Pain (yes, that T-Pain) Pretzel Rocks Soundtrack by Twitch StreamBeats by Harris Heller
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4. Use Ambient Noise
For streamers that don’t necessarily want music playing in the background, but don’t want silence, then ambient noise is another alternative. Search on almost any platform, and one can find ambient sounds ranging from fireplaces to storms to café noise and more. This can be useful for any streamers wanting to create a specific atmosphere, whether or not they are streaming games. For any IRL Twitch streamers, there might already be plenty of ambient noise in the background that they are comfortable with leaving in. It is important to keep in mind that even some ambient noise tracks are copyrighted, so it’s good to double-check before just using anything right off the internet.
5. Stream With Friends
Finally, for streamers that don’t want to use copyright-free background music, streaming with friends is another alternative. Though not the case for everyone, background music is often used to fill the void of silence on streams when a person isn’t talking. Since music can often come with the stress of possible DMCA situations, certain Twitch streamers might try to protect themselves from copyright issues by forgoing music altogether. Streaming with friends in voice chat together can not only make streaming more fun, but can also make the stream have less “dead air.” If a streamer is constantly talking with friends or teammates, there isn’t always a need for background music.
Overall, there are several ways Twitch streamers can avoid DMCA takedowns on the platform. If a streamer believes they accidentally used copyrighted content on their stream, they can always delete any VODs after the fact. While Twitch has different tools for streamers to deal with DMCA content in VODs, many hope the platform takes bigger steps to address the issue in the future.
Twitch’s DMCA claims situation has become so bad that Twitch’s own CEO Emmett Shear apologized for the commotion. As streaming gets more popular, streamers need to be more aware of copyright laws and what they can stream without recourse. Hopefully, platforms like Twitch can also come to some compromise with the music industry that mutually benefits both parties. Until then, streamers just need to do everything they can to keep their streams in good standing.
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