How Will Twitch’s DJ Program Impact Streamers and the Music Industry?
21 August 2024It finally seems as though Twitch is giving DJs and music streamers a break on the platform, saving them from the infamous DMCA strike. Not only that, but in the past, many music streamers have struggled with permanent mutes, bans, and many other roadblocks.
Starting September 1, 2024, Twitch is letting DJs sign up for their service, allowing them to remix and play a number of songs from a preapproved catalogue. These streams will still be monetized just like any other; However, there are some stipulations.
First and foremost, streamers within the DJ category won’t be able to use all of the features available on Twitch – namely, you won’t have any clips or replays. Moreover, you will need to cover the royalties that go to the original artist.
When asked about the new policy, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy said he’s “proud to have closed a first-of-its-kind agreement with rights holders that makes it possible for DJs to stream music and for musicians to be compensated.”
In regards to the royalties, Clancy also said:
“ Twitch deducts a fixed percentage on a monthly basis to pay to rights holders for the benefit of the musicians whose music is played. These costs are deducted from total channel revenue and then paid out according to that streamer’s revenue sharing agreement with Twitch.”
This means that smaller DJ’s may struggle to make ends meet.
In response to this, Twitch promised to help new DJs get started by subsidizing their royalties. DJs who start streaming in August will see that they have one year of royalty-free streaming before they will have to pay out of their own earnings.
The only real negative in the short term is that DJs who want to monetize their own music will have to pay a 1.5% commission to Merlin Network on top of other royalties.
Downsides of the New System
Outside of just paying royalties to individual artists, DJs on Twitch will still face a number of hurdles if they really want to achieve success.
The first issue is the lack of variety in music selection, as music outside of Twitch’s catalogue will still lead to copyright strikes and channel bans. It’ll be extremely difficult to create new and fresh remixes if you’re limited to just a handful of songs from specific artists.
Another issue is going to be lip-syncing, karaoke, and really any other use of music on streams, as Twitch is likely going to clamp down hard on “radio” streams. Just like before the changes, a streamer could get into some serious hot water for just accidentally playing a Spotify playlist on stream.
As a side effect of the DJ Program, all Twitch streamers will be policed (presumably starting September 1st) under a new enforcement system.
Creators who use music as a part of your content, please be aware of this.#TwitchNews #TOSgg pic.twitter.com/lYM90EsDDP
— Zach Bussey (@zachbussey) August 17, 2024
All in all, this change really seems like putting a bandaid on a large wound – it’ll help but won’t necessarily solve the problem. Until streaming platforms can find a way to make things work with the big music brands, DJs will continue to sit in a weird limbo with their content.
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