Twitch streamers outraged as new DMCA warning forces them to delete clips Twitch streamers from all corners of the platform have been getting DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown notifications, leading to many content creators like Mongraal, Brax, Scump, and a lot more to discover that clips\/VODs from their channel have been deleted. What started as a wake-up call for anyone who\u2019s ever played music while streaming turned into bitter confusion after emails started circulating among creators that their content was flagged by the company for DMCA implications. \u201cIt is INSANE that Twitch informs partners they deleted their content \u2013 and that there is more content in violation despite having NO identification system to find out what it is,\u201d Former CLG CEO and Twitch streamer Devin Nash said. \u201cTheir solution to DMCA is for creators to delete their life\u2019s work. This is pure, gross negligence.\u201d While infractions or complaints from streamers have to do with music particularly, DMCA strikes can apply to any creative work that is copyrighted, broadcasted without a license to do so, and discovered then reported by its owner. Did not receive a DMCA email but I deleted everything off of my channel a couple months ago. Seems like that\u2019s the only way :\/ sad, wish there was a little more transparency with what\u2019s going on \u2014 brooke (@brookeab) October 20, 2020 \u201cGuys, I got a DMCA warning today too,\u201d Twitch partner and Ninja\u2019s Manager\/wife, Jessica Blevins said. \u201cI thought I deleted all my old stuff. Whoops! Honestly sucks that it wasn\u2019t regulated before because now everyone has to delete their stuff to be safe.\u201d \u201cWe are writing to inform you that your channel was subject to one or more of these DMCA takedown notifications, and that the content identified has been deleted,\u201d Twitch wrote in emails to streamers, though none with the specific infractions committed. The affected streamers didn\u2019t necessarily earn themselves an official DMCA strike, three of which gets you banned on the platform, but content is still being deleted and streamer\u2019s now have to deal with the ambiguity of the Oct 20 emails. \u201cLooked at a few of these DMCA emails, they don\u2019t identify the content taken down, who sent the notification, or provide an opportunity to respond to the takedown with a counter-notification as required under the DMCA. No chance to defend yourself,\u201d Noah Downs said, who is a lawyer at Morrison Rothman LLP that also works in the gaming space. These DMCA notices are legit and apply to your old content. I’ve received word that live takedowns may be implemented very soon \u2013 this is the beginning. Don’t play music you don’t have the rights to, and if you have questions, speak to a lawyer. \u2014 Noah Downs, Esq. (@MyLawyerFriend) October 20, 2020 This is an overall confusing situation since streamers, who have enjoyed Twitch\u2019s presumed leniency to music being played, now have to go back and purge their channels. \u201cI might get DMCA banned from Twitch\u2026,\u201d CouRage said, joking about the content still up on his channel that hasn\u2019t been deleted since his big move to YouTube. HELP IM GETTING DMCA’D IDK WHAT IT MEANS AM I BANNED FROM TWITCH? \u2014 Michael \/ SONII \u2600\ufe0f (@sonii) October 20, 2020 gg so I cant play literally any music anymore on stream or what? so dumb bro \u2014 Mongraal (@Mongraal) October 20, 2020 Got hit with a DMCA on twitch and no idea what it was that did it. \u2014 Lirik (@LIRIK) October 20, 2020 Got hit with that DMCA warning and I haven’t played music in months. dang. \u2014 OpTic Scump (@scump) October 20, 2020 How can Twitch streamers avoid DMCA? For the time being, Twitch\u2019s mass deletion of clips and VODs will go unchallenged. Furthermore, the platform is asking individual streamers to scour their libraries of content for any more instances that could merit a DMCA. Twitch content creators have until 12 PM PST \/ 3 PM EST \/ 8 PM BST on Friday, October 23 to find and delete any possible infractions in their content catalogues or clips that haven\u2019t been flagged by the platform themselves. The company will \u201cresume the normal processing of DMCA takedowns\u201d shortly after. The company also suggests using tools like Audible Magic, while reviewing the site\u2019s DMCA, Community, and Music guidelines to avoid future mishaps. If you\u2019re unsure if something falls under a DMCA\u2019s purview, Twitch recommends to \u201cdelete all of it.\u201d \u201cPlease note that buying music (such as a CD or mp3) or subscribing to a music streaming service typically does not grant rights to share the music on Twitch. Such a purchase or subscription grants you a personal license to access the content only for your personal and private playback,\u201d Twitch wrote in the Music guidelines. This content was identified and deleted for you, in accordance with its obligations under the DMCA. Going forward, Clips that are identified as having copyrighted music will be deleted without penalty to help ensure you do not receive DMCA notifications from rights holders. \u2014 Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) October 20, 2020 Why are DMCAs happening now? There\u2019s been inklings that something like this was bound to happen. Back in June, Twitch notified streamers of \u201cmass DMCA claims against clips\u201d from record labels spanning 2017-2019. From the language used, Twitch decided to hand out DMCA notifications about specific infractions instead of what they did today, but were \u201cworking to make this easier\u201d with future implementation of management tools. Since then, Twitch has given creators the ability to delete all of their clips at once and control who can actually make clips on someone\u2019s channel. Moreover, they\u2019ve even provided a way to scan clips with Audible Magic while offering Soundtrack by Twitch which lets people stream with music playing in a separate audio track. \u201cNow that these tools have been released to all creators\u201d the company released the notifications while deleting content themselves, to get the ball rolling. It is INSANE that @Twitch informs partners they deleted their content \u2013 and that there is more content in violation despite having NO identification system to find out what it is. Their solution to DMCA is for creators to delete their life’s work. This is pure, gross negligence. pic.twitter.com\/mhdXU5lEc5 \u2014 Devin (@DevinNash) October 20, 2020 To be clear, copyrighted music on Twitch has always skirted the lines of legality with royalty payments and the like, but the platform is now at a level of prominence where labels and other artists are taking notice of what\u2019s being presented by individual streamers \u2013 and it\u2019s not that hard to do. \u201cUniversal Music Group and Warner have invested in this company that is monitoring every stream on Twitch and they have the ability to issue live DMCAs, they just haven\u2019t done it yet,\u201d Downs told djWHEAT back in June. Free music for Twitch streaming For those that still want to stream with music while avoiding the potential of a DMCA warning, there are a few services to look out for. Twitch recommended services like Monstercat Gold and Soundstripe for sources of licensed music for streamers. Be warned, while huge artists like T-Pain have essentially given streamers the greenlight to use their music during a stream, music labels might still be able to issue a DMCA. For those that don\u2019t want to be bothered by any DMCA implications, streaming without licensed music is the safest way to keep yourself clear from legal ramifications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Twitch streamers outraged as new DMCA warning forces them to delete clips Twitch streamers from all corners of the platform have been getting DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown notifications, leading to many content creators like Mongraal, Brax, Scump, and a lot more to discover that clips\/VODs from their channel have been deleted. What started […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62835\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}