I've heard conflicting things about playing music on stream. some streamers play whatever they want and some use only royalty free music
What's the actual risk? will twitch ban you for playing copyrighted music or do they just mute your videos?
Should I play copyrighted music on my Twitch stream?
Re: Should I play copyrighted music on my Twitch stream?
The risk depends on what you're doing with your content
if you only stream live and never save vods, you'll probably be fine. dmca strikes come from recorded content not live streams
if you plan to upload stream vods to youtube or keep them on twitch, absolutely do not use copyrighted music. your channel will get hit eventually
i stream with copyrighted music but:
- i have vods turned off completely
- i use obs to separate my game audio, mic, and music into different tracks
- when i clip highlights for youtube i just remove the music track
most big streamers either use stream-safe music or have their vods muted in sections. it's just not worth the risk when there are so many free alternatives
the vibes from playing good music aren't worth losing your channel over. just use royalty free music and avoid the stress
if you only stream live and never save vods, you'll probably be fine. dmca strikes come from recorded content not live streams
if you plan to upload stream vods to youtube or keep them on twitch, absolutely do not use copyrighted music. your channel will get hit eventually
i stream with copyrighted music but:
- i have vods turned off completely
- i use obs to separate my game audio, mic, and music into different tracks
- when i clip highlights for youtube i just remove the music track
most big streamers either use stream-safe music or have their vods muted in sections. it's just not worth the risk when there are so many free alternatives
the vibes from playing good music aren't worth losing your channel over. just use royalty free music and avoid the stress
Re: Should I play copyrighted music on my Twitch stream?
DO NOT play copyrighted music on stream. i learned this the hard way
i was streaming with spotify playing in the background for like 3 months with no issues. then one day i got 3 DMCA strikes in my email all at once for songs from months ago
twitch doesn't catch it in real time but record labels scan vods and submit takedowns. if you get 3 strikes your channel gets banned permanently
what happens when you play copyrighted music:
1. your vod gets muted (the audio section with the song gets silenced)
2. if the copyright holder submits a DMCA you get a strike
3. three strikes = permanent ban with no appeal
it's not worth the risk. use stream-safe music:
- pretzel rocks
- streambeats
- epidemic sound
- uppbeat
most of these have free options or are cheap monthly subscriptions. just don't risk your channel over background music
i was streaming with spotify playing in the background for like 3 months with no issues. then one day i got 3 DMCA strikes in my email all at once for songs from months ago
twitch doesn't catch it in real time but record labels scan vods and submit takedowns. if you get 3 strikes your channel gets banned permanently
what happens when you play copyrighted music:
1. your vod gets muted (the audio section with the song gets silenced)
2. if the copyright holder submits a DMCA you get a strike
3. three strikes = permanent ban with no appeal
it's not worth the risk. use stream-safe music:
- pretzel rocks
- streambeats
- epidemic sound
- uppbeat
most of these have free options or are cheap monthly subscriptions. just don't risk your channel over background music