​DJs must declare earnings from streaming website Twitch, CEO confirms

DJs who stream on the video platform Twitch must now share their earnings with record labels, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has confirmed.

In an interview with Twitch channel TweakMusicTips (via Engadgets), Clancy confirmed that a new “structure” will be put in place, meaning artists must declare their earnings through the website.

"We're going to have a structure where we are going to have to share money with the labels, it doesn't come for free,” he told the interviewer.

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“I’ve told a number of DJs this, and they realise, of course, that they would rather not share money. But we're going to split whatever the cost is.”

“We’re going to pay a portion of it, and the streamer will need to contribute a portion in terms of the revenue,” he added, confirming that Twitch will pay for a part of the label owings, but artists must then share a portion of their revenue.

Clancy went on to explain that this structure will work by tracking all music played by DJs while streaming. The revenue earned from tracks played will then be distributed to record labels associated with each track.

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Clancy also confirmed that the change will only impact DJs on the streaming platform, adding that livestreams and videos have different rules over copyrighted music, per Engadgets.

The new structure is being put in place in response to copyright issues on the platform. Clancy explained that he had spoken to record labels about a fair solution, which will also allow DJs to continue streaming without DMCA takedown requests.

In 2020, DJs streaming on Twitch noticed an increase in copyright takedowns of both livestreams and archival clips in line with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

An example list of music content not allowed on Twitch streams showed: “DJ Set – Playing and/or mixing pre-recorded music tracks which incorporate music, other than music which is owned by you or music which is licensed for you to share on Twitch.”

Watch the full interview with Dan Clancy here.

[Via Engadgets]

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter