HOW TO PLAY MUSIC ON TWITCH

If you love watching gamers in real time, Twitch will be a go-to platform for you. Gaming streamers post live and recorded content on their channels 24/7. For creators in this niche, it’s a must-master website. 

But since Twitch launched in 2011, there have been many changes to its content rules, including the use of music. Failing to comply could mean your videos get taken down and your account suspended. 

Here’s how to use gaming background music without infringing Twitch’s music licensing rules.

History of music on Twitch

Twitch started life as Justin.tv. Built off the trend for reality television, this website was launched in 2007 to livestream the life of its founder Justin Kan. As creators launched their own streaming setups, they added their own channels to the website. This eventually created a platform full of live and recorded user-generated content. 

One of the platform's most popular video categories was gaming. Players broadcasted their screens as they worked through different levels and challenges. Eventually, this category’s popularity outgrew all the others, leading to the creation of an offshoot platform, Twitch, in 2011. 

Now a subsidiary of Amazon, the platform attracts more than eight million streamers per month. This growth has transformed Twitch into a revenue source for large streamers.

It has also meant tighter restrictions to protect copyright holders’ work. In particular, the use of music tracks over live or recorded videos is now more tightly controlled.

So to avoid being penalized by the platform, you should be careful about the background music you use.

What music can you play on Twitch?

When Twitch first launched, you could use your favorite tunes or the latest viral hits. Now, you’ll need to check the copyright terms of any tracks on your live or recorded content.

Twitch has adopted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Guidelines. Under these guidelines, you can only use music that: 

• You own the rights to: or, more specifically, original music you write and perform yourself.
• You have licensed the rights to.
• You can hire or buy the license to music tracks for your own use.

It’s important to check that any license covers live-streaming content as this is often an exemption. Specifically, you can’t use the following types of audio unless you own or have licensed the rights to the tracks being performed: 

• Recorded live broadcasts e.g. on the radio or at concerts
• DJ sets or mixes
• Karaoke or lip-syncing performances
• Cover songs

Any visuals of copyrighted tracks also fall under DMCA restrictions. So you can’t post any lyrics from these tunes unless you own or have licensed the rights to them.