Twitch users get retrospective strikes for past music use

The Amazon-owned video live streaming platform has advised users to dig into their previous posts to look for potential copyright violations to avoid getting reprimanded or having their accounts banned.

But tackling the copyright issue based on retrospective claims is causing friction for the live-streaming platform, with a number of users up in arms over the "three strikes and you're out" rule.

“I’ve been issued two copyright strikes on my channel (both from clips over a year old) in the past week and told that if they find one more violation in my clips, my Twitch account will be permabanned,” a tweep wrote, to which another replied: "Mixer will open you with open arms."

The news follows a recent reminder from Twitch that DJ sets are among the music content that may not be used in Twitch streams or VODs.

Twitch said it had received an unusually high number of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) requests.

“This week, we’ve had a sudden influx of DMCA takedown requests for clips with background music from 2017-19, a Twitch post on Twitter reads. “If you’re unsure about rights to audio in past streams, we advise removing those clips.

“This is the first time we have received mass DMCA claims against clips. We understand this has been stressful for affected creators and are working on solutions, including examining how we can give you more control over your clips.”

It has been reported that during the three-year period, the most popular streamers on the platform, who are gamers, were allowed to amply broadcast music content.

Since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, Twitch has seen a significant uptick in users on its platform due to many artists and DJs switching to livestreaming. The company has also aligned itself closer with the music industry in the past few months, and has entered into partnerships with SoundCloud and Bandsintown.