Can you play music on Twitch? It’s the question that lots of people are asking, so we’re here to give you the answers, help you to navigate the tricky waters of copyright, and even provide you with some Twitch-safe music, as we talk you through the Twitch music rules.
In October 2020, following a mass of DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown requests, Twitch deleted a huge amount of content which violated music copyright laws. The platform uses a three-strike policy: if you get three strikes, you’re banned. Which, understandably, left a lot of streamers feeling very unhappy.
‘What music can I play on Twitch?’ The simple answer to that question: it’s… complicated. Streamers might be playing both classics and current hits, but it doesn’t mean that they’re abiding by the rules. The music industry started to take action in 2018, when several popular streamers were hit with 24-hour bans for playing copyrighted music.
Twitch itself states that ‘Twitch values the work of songwriters, musicians and other creative artists. As a company committed to supporting creators, we respect, and ask our users to respect, the intellectual property of those who make music and those who own or control music rights.'
What Music Can I Play On Twitch?
There are three types of music you can play while Twitch streaming, and these rules affect all Twitch streamers, whether you have a million subscribers, or just a few hundred:
Music Owned by You
This is original music written by you and either recorded or performed live by you. You must own or control all rights necessary to share the music on Twitch, including the rights to the recording, performing and underlying music and lyrics. If you’re signed to a record label or publishing company, then make sure you’re not in violation of that contractual relationship by sharing your music on Twitch.
Music Licensed to You
This is copyrighted music owned in whole or in part by someone other than you, if you’ve secured a licence to share it on Twitch from all of the relevant copyright holder(s).
Music streamed using Soundtrack by Twitch
Music added to your live streams using Soundtrack by Twitch.
Soundtrack by Twitch, aka Twitch’s own audio library, might be the easiest option, but won’t give you the widest choice when it comes to music for your Twitch streams. Audio Network has straightforward licensing covering Twitch, spanning every genre and mood. Take a look at our hand-picked playlists for inspiration and check out our super-simple subscriptions which make life even easier.
Can You Play Music on Twitch When You Stream?
What else might be covered under copyrighted music on Twitch? The first thing to flag is that if you own a physical CD or an album on iTunes, or pay for a streaming platform such as Spotify Premium, that doesn’t mean that you ‘own’ the music. And beware – if you think that you can play music on Twitch if the content is music-based, then the answer is still ‘no, you can’t.’ Twitch flags the following under examples of types of music you can’t include in Twitch streams or recorded videos such as VODs and Clips:
- Radio station-style broadcast – radio station-style broadcasts of recorded music without a live visual performance, unless you own the necessary rights to stream the music on Twitch and have signed a contract with Twitch setting out an exemption for your channel from this rule.
- DJ set – playing and/or mixing pre-recorded music tracks, unless those tracks are owned by you or are licensed for you to share on Twitch.
- Karaoke performance – singing or performing with a karaoke recording unless you own or are licensed to share that music on Twitch.
- Lip sync performance – pantomiming, singing, or pretending to sing to music that is not owned by you or is not licensed for you to share on Twitch.
- Visual music depiction – lyrics, music notation, tablature, or any other visual representation of copyrighted music other than music owned by you or music which is licensed for you to share on Twitch.
- Cover song performance – performance of a song owned by someone else, with the exception of a live performance in your Twitch stream. If you do perform a cover song in a live Twitch stream, you need to make a good faith effort to perform the song as written by the songwriter(s), and create all audio elements yourself, without incorporating instrumental tracks, music recordings, or any other recorded elements owned by others.
Do You Have to Follow the Twitch TOS, and Can You Play Copyrighted Music on Twitch?
As we’ve said above, you’re not allowed to play music that you don’t have the rights for. If you’re playing music without a licence on Twitch, then you’re violating copyright law and Twitch’s Terms of Service. Want to use copyrighted music? You need that licence.
Many people think that you can use snippets of songs, with a frequent question being, ‘can I use 10 seconds of a copyrighted song on Twitch?’ The answer is still no – whether you use one second or the entire song, any use of copyrighted material without permission is an infringement of copyright. Also, as we flagged above, paying for a streaming service like Spotify and Apple Music doesn’t mean that you can use tracks to soundtrack your content. These services might allow you to stream this music, but the royalties and rights are still owned by the record labels or artists, not by the music streaming services.
And it doesn’t matter if your channel isn’t monetised – the copyright rules still apply to you when it comes to using music.
What Can Happen to My Channel if I Play Copyrighted Music?
If you don’t have the proper licence for the music, then Twitch partner Audible Magic, which scans all of their streams, VODs and Clips automatically for copyrighted content, or the copyright owners themselves may flag that material has been used without permission.
In either case, you’ll receive a DMCA takedown notification, meaning that your content has been taken down. Multiple breaching of copyright laws and DMCA notifications will result in your account being suspended.
In some cases, however, you might receive a warning before a penalty, giving you the opportunity to remove your content, remove the music or purchase a licence for the music you’ve used.
Long-term? Your channel might be terminated. As we mentioned earlier, Twitch as a ‘three strike’ policy for DMCA takedowns. A first offence results in a 24-hour ban. The second activates a 24-hour to seven-day ban, whilst if you pick up a third, it can mean an indefinite or permanent Twitch ban.
Twitch Safe Music
When you want music that you don’t have to worry about, choose Audio Network’s! We have a range of solutions and subscriptions for content creators, making life even easier. All our music is original, high quality and, best of all, will make your content totally unique.
Want to explore and be inspired? We have music to suit every genre and mood, plus hand-picked playlists by our in-house experts and dedicated music for gaming. Plus, as Twitch is changing all the time, so is our music, with brand new releases every two weeks – so, go for it!
Need Music for Your Project?
At Audio Network we create original music, of the highest quality, for broadcasters, brands, creators, agencies and music fans everywhere. Through clear and simple licensing, we can offer you a huge variety of the best quality music across every conceivable mood and genre. Find out how we can connect you with the perfect collaborator today by clicking the button below!
