Twitch
Warner Music Becomes Twitch’s First Major-Label Partner
Warner Music Group (WMG) is the first major recording company to partner with Twitch in a deal that will bring WMG artist channels, original music programming and more to the livestreaming platform. To start, WMG is launching artist channels for Warner Records stars Bella Poarch and Saweetie, plus Atlantic Records singer and producer Sueco, where they’ll share exclusive and behind-the-scenes content. Additionally, social media-focused digital media company IMGN — which WMG acquired last year — will produce a slate of original shows like “The Drop,” to discuss music news; “Freestyle Throwdown,” where rappers freestyle based on topics chosen by the audience; and “The One,” where guest artists perform the songs that influenced them. “...
Streamers Still Upset With Twitch After Landmark NMPA Deal
A new deal has been struck in the ongoing battle between Twitch and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA)—but streamers still aren’t happy. Over a year after the initial debate began, Twitch finally came to an agreement with the NMPA. But even after the deal, streamers will not be allowed to play licensed music while streaming. Thousands of DMCA copyright strikes have been issued to streamers in the last year, resulting in the removal of any videos containing copyrighted songs. Despite a long-awaited agreement between Twitch and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), streamers are still vexed. Caspar Camille Rubin “As part of this agreement, we want to let you know about a new process that we are creating that participating music rights holders can op...
Twitch Nearing Licensing Deal With RIAA and NMPA After Prolonged Conflict
For over a year, Twitch has been engrossed in a well-documented war with the music industry over its approach to licensing—or perhaps a lack thereof—on its platform. Now, according to sources close to the US National Music Publishers Association, the Amazon-owned video streaming service is finally close to reaching an amicable deal with licensing stakeholders. Last year, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) flooded the platform with DMCA takedown notices, sparking fears of potentially sweeping permabans among Twitch streamers. In response, Twitch acted quickly to roll out “Soundtrack By Twitch,” a tool designed to provide users with a pre-cleared catalogue of music for the...
Twitch & Music Publishers Nearing Licensing Deal
Amazon-owned Twitch has operated under the DMCA for years without backlash, but ever since the pandemic turned the music industry’s attention to Twitch for livestreaming concerts, spurring huge growth for the platform, music trade organizations like the NMPA and RIAA have accused Twitch of taking advantage of the DMCA to avoid paying for music — similar to the way the organizations have pressured TikTok, Facebook and YouTube to sign licensing deals in the past. So the two organizations have flooded Twitch with tens of thousands of takedown requests over the past year, forcing Twitch to the negotiation table by frustrating its users. In response, Twitch vp/head of music Tracy Chan has reiterated that Twitch does not tolerate copyright infringement, arguing that Twitch’s monetiza...
Rewatch Our Live Twitch Interview With Descendents Ahead of the Release of 9th & Walnut
Almost exactly two months ago, Bill Stevenson and Milo Aukerman of the Descendents joined our Twitch stream for a very special episode of our weekly rock ‘n roll interview show/therapy session, Noise Pollution. Normally, our streams stay on Twitch for the limit of two weeks and then disappear into the ether, but today, we brought back the very special appearance by the punk rock legends ahead of the release of their new album, 9th & Walnut (out July 23 via Epitaph Records). The album, which was recorded in both 2002 and 2020, features 18 of the band’s earliest songs from the late 1970s and is the final recording from late guitarist Frank Navetta as well as a decades-in-the-making reunion with both Navetta and original bassist Tony Lombardo. In the hour-long Twitch stream, Stevenso...
Nintendo Warns Against Co-Streaming E3 Showcase
While Microsoft encouraged co-streaming this year’s massive Twitch-hosted E3 showcase, Nintendo took a different approach in warning streamers against it. E3’s 2021 showcase took place mostly online, in light of concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Nintendo opted out of co-streaming the event from the official Twitch platform, and warned that co-streamers may receive DMCA copyright strikes for streaming E3 due to licensing issues with the music that was used in this year’s festivities. Microsoft actually obtained retransmission rights for all of the music that was used in this year’s streamed event, though those rights will expire after one year. Should co-streamers not delete their VOD (video on demand) before that year-long period is up, they may rece...
Huge web outage takes Reddit, Twitch, and other big sites offline
A huge global web outage swept across the internet this morning, taking out popular sites including Amazon, Twitch, and Reddit. The outages started at around 5:30AM ET, with a large number of sites affected. The Fastly content delivery network (CDN) was the source of the issues, which lasted for more than an hour. Major news sites like CNN, The New York Times, The Guardian, and the Financial Times were also affected. The issues also affected UK government websites, so British citizens were unable to renew passports, apply for tax allowances, or obtain driving licenses during the outage. Fastly hasn’t commented fully on the issues other than an outage message on the company’s status page. “The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented,” said Fastly at 6:44AM ET. Get more stor...
Harmonix’s Fuser Launches “Headliner Spotlight” Update With 24/7 Live Music Festival
Last year Harmonix, the developer behind Rock Band and Dance Central, launched their latest title Fuser, allowing gamers to become their very own DJ heroes. Without any special equipment, players are able to explore the world of mixing music in front of a massive virtual festival. Little did we know, even the professionals would be performing like this in just a few short months post-launch. After the rise of Twitch DJ sets due to the pandemic, developers are now releasing an update to the game called the “Headliner Spotlight.” This feature will allow players the chance to DJ for actual people at the Diamond Stage, a 24/7 live venue. Over 250 people will be able to watch a lucky user spin both in-game and on Twitch. While the performance in itself is impor...
Paolo Maldini: Gianluigi Donnarumma to leave AC Milan as free agent
Gianluigi Donnarumma will leave AC Milan this summer, club director Paolo Maldini announced on Wednesday, with the Italy goalkeeper set to pick his new club as a free agent. Donnarumma’s Milan contract expires at the end of the month and he has been linked with moves to La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, Manchester United and even bitter Serie A rivals Juventus. “We need to show respect for someone who has given a lot to Milan, he has never disrespected us. We’re going our separate ways but I can only wish him the very best,” Milan legend Maldini said on social media platform Twitch. Seven-time European champions Milan finished second in Serie A last weekend, securing Champions League football for the first time since the 2013-2014 season. Donnarumma was a near ever-present in Stefa...
Baauer Announces Twitch-Streamed Virtual Music Festival, BOPFEST
Hot on the heels of his first-ever Grammy nomination, electronic music virtuoso Baauer is dipping his toes in the virtual festival scene. The famed producer, whose stunning PLANET’S MAD audiovisual album garnered a 2021 nod for the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album, has announced his own digital music festival called BOPFEST. In an ode to the one-year anniversary of his first livestream, the online-only event will go down on Baauer’s Twitch channel next Saturday, April 10th. Baauer’s inaugural BOPFEST lineup features Good Times Ahead and X&G, two renowned electronic duos, as well as surprise appearances from unannounced special guests and numerous winners of Baauer’s livestreamed Twitch beat battles. The stream also promises a brand new musica...
Disclosure Produced a New Song Live on Twitch and Minted It as an NFT
Grammy Award-nominated dance music duo Disclosure has thrown their hat into the red-hot NFT ring. Disclosure recently took to social media to announce their debut NFT release, which was streamed live on Twitch via a music production session. Immediately after the song was created, it was minted and made available for purchase on Zora, a major marketplace to buy, sell, and trade limited edition digital collectibles. Watch Disclosure’s Guy Lawrence explain their debut NFT release below. There’s a good chance you’ve found yourself in a Google rabbit hole recently due to the NFT craze. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital collectibles whose ownership is verified and protected by blockchain technology, ensuring authenticity. The items—often unique pieces of...
Twitch (Hilariously) Replaces Metallica BlizzCon Performance With Elevator Music
The moment was enough for viewers to be in hysterics, the incident trending on Twitter Saturday morning. The event, dubbed “BlizzConline,” was streamed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the laughs, fans pointed out Metallica was one the most outspoken acts when it came to creating musical streaming laws, suing Napster in 2000. Billboard has reached out to Blizzard Entertainment for comment about the incident. Last year, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett said the band’s battle against streaming was in hindsight a lost cause. “We didn’t make a difference — we did not make a difference,” Hammett told Dean Delray on the Let There Be Talk podcast. “It happened, and we couldn’t stop it — because it was just bigger than any ...
