Reporting Process for Participating Music Rights Holders
Twitch has partnered with certain music rights holders to establish parameters for how their copyrighted works can be used on the service. These partnerships have enabled Twitch to set up a more flexible and accommodating process – apart from our DMCA process – for Twitch creators who either participate in the Twitch DJ Program and use the music in ways that are not allowed by the DJ Program Terms, or who otherwise include these rights holders’ music in their channels. We refer to this process as the “Music Reporting Process” and set out what it means for creators in the remainder of this page.
We know you’re interested in the details – but first, a brief explanation of our current systems and why we created the Music Reporting Process for certain music copyright claims. Twitch is a live streaming video service that gives creators the ability to create and share live and on-demand (e.g., VODs and clips) audiovisual content that community members can watch and discuss in real time. In consideration of this, Twitch, like other services, operates in compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) and similar global laws. These laws permit copyright holders – including music rights holders – who believe their copyrights are being misused by creators to submit notifications requesting a takedown of the allegedly infringing content. These laws also allow creators whose content is identified to dispute the notifications by submitting counter-notifications or to ask the claimant for a retraction. As explained in our DMCA Guidelines, Twitch acts as a “go-between” in these disputes – that is, Twitch’s role isn’t to decide who’s “right” and who’s “wrong” in a particular dispute – and Twitch is required by law to terminate the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe copyrights.
We know that copyright law can be challenging to navigate and have entered into contracts with certain music rights holders that have allowed us to create a separate reporting and handling process for particular uses of their copyrighted works on Twitch. These contracts recognize that background, incidental, and in-game uses of music in creators’ streams, VODs, and clips merit different treatment from more flagrant music uses such as operating an unlicensed radio station, rebroadcasting a concert, or sharing pre-release or unreleased tracks. In addition, these contracts recognize that creators who participate in the Twitch DJ Program merit an alternative approach when they inadvertently use music in ways prohibited by the DJ Program Terms.
VODs
Participating music rights holders may submit a report to Twitch when their music is included in VODs (e.g., stream archives, highlights, uploads, or clips) that include unauthorized content (e.g., sound recordings, musical compositions, or videos). Upon receiving such a report, Twitch may remove or mute the VODs.
Streams on Channels Enrolled in the Twitch DJ Program
For channels enrolled in the Twitch DJ Program, participating music rights holders may submit a report to Twitch when their music or other intellectual property is used in a stream without authorization in any of the ways listed below. Upon receiving such a report, Twitch may issue a penalty under this Music Reporting Process (“music reporting penalties”) and take the following actions based on the report.
| Type of Activity | 1st Report | 2nd Report | 3rd Report | 4th Report |
| Broadcast streams that include pre-released or unreleased recorded music (i.e., music that was not released by the rights holder to the public at the time it was included in the stream) | - Live stream ended - Channel suspended for 24 hours - Music reporting penalty issued | - Live stream ended - Channel suspended for 24 hours - Music reporting penalty issued | Channel permanently suspended | N/A |
| - Broadcast streams that include recorded music without an accompanying live, audiovisual performance; e.g., no audio-only broadcasts, automated broadcasts or similar broadcasts over a prolonged period without a live performance element- Broadcast streams that include playback of an entire album of recorded music or recorded music from a single artist for more than 30 minutes with minimal other content - Rebroadcast concerts or similar live performances that include recorded music - Rebroadcast previously live DJ streams (including your own) that include recorded music | - Live stream ended - Channel suspended for 24 hours - Music reporting penalty issued | - Live stream ended - Channel suspended for 24 hours - Music reporting penalty issued | - Live stream ended - Channel suspended for 48 hours - Music reporting penalty issued | Channel permanently suspended |
| - Broadcast paid/sponsored content that uses the name or likeness of a recording artist affiliated with a rights holder, or the name or trademark of a rights holder, in a manner that implies an endorsement by the artist or rights holder - Broadcast advertisements, promotions, or paid/sponsored content that includes recorded music, outside of monetization programs offered by Twitch - Broadcast streams that include recorded music that is not included in the DJ music catalog - Broadcast recorded music from the DJ music catalog in content other than DJ content or on a channel which is not enrolled in the Twitch DJ Program. - Broadcast streams (other than DJ content) in which recorded music is the focus of or is integral to the stream, such as a fitness class - Create on-demand recordings (e.g., VODs and clips) that contain recordings from the DJ music catalog | Music reporting penalty issued | Music reporting penalty issued | Music reporting penalty issued | Channel permanently suspended |
Streams on All Other Channels
For channels that are not enrolled in the Twitch DJ Program, participating music rights holders may submit a report to Twitch when their music or other intellectual property is used in a stream without authorization in the ways listed below. Upon receiving such a report, Twitch may issue a music reporting penalty and take the following actions based on the report.
| Type of Activity | 1st Report | 2nd Report | 3rd Report | 4th Report |
| Broadcast recorded music in a way that mirrors a radio station; i.e., a channel primarily focused on broadcasting recorded music over prolonged periods of time without streamer interaction | Channel permanently suspended | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Broadcast live DJ streams that include recorded music | - Music reporting penalty issued | - Music reporting penalty issued | - Music reporting penalty issued | Channel permanently suspended |
| - Broadcast streams that include pre-released or unreleased recorded music - Rebroadcast concerts or similar live performances that include recorded music - Broadcast streams that include playback of an entire album of recorded music | - Live stream ended - Channel suspended for 48 hours - Music reporting penalty issued | - Live stream ended - Channel suspended for 48 hours - Music reporting penalty issued | - Live stream ended - Channel suspended for 48 hours - Music reporting penalty issued | Channel permanently suspended |
| - Broadcast streams in which recorded music is the focus of or is integral to the stream, such as a fitness class - Broadcast advertisements, promotions, or paid/sponsored content that includes recorded music - Broadcast streams that use recorded music in karaoke/lip-synch performances or audio request playback services | Music reporting penalty issued | Music reporting penalty issued | Music reporting penalty issued | Channel permanently suspended |
Final callouts:
- Creators who are reported using music or other intellectual property in these ways will have an opportunity to submit an appeal.
- This policy does not change our policy related to the use of copyrighted material in the content on your channel. Do not include music or other copyrighted material in content you share on your channel unless you’ve secured the necessary rights or have the authority to do so.
- This process can only be utilized by music rights holders who have opted in, and does not replace the process for submitting or responding to notifications of claimed infringement under the DMCA. It is therefore possible that if you include other rights holders’ copyrighted material in your channel, you could receive a DMCA notification. This is another reason to ensure that you only include music in your streams, VODs, and clips if you have secured the necessary rights or authority to do so.
- Please check out our Video On Demand and How to Use Clips help articles to learn about the tools and features available to help you manage the content on your channel.
- This process may evolve as our conversations with other music rights holders progress. If that happens, we will update this page. Please review this page to stay up to date.