Just a couple of days ago, an entity claiming to represent the Recording Industry Association of Americafiled a massive amount of copyright claimsagainst Twitch streamers. This deluge of claims is forcing many streamers to go through their clip backlogs and prune them down.
As reported by Kotaku, many streamers have received one or more copyright strikes for their content in a massive wave of DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) claims over old VODs and clips, 60-second bits of memorable stream footage, such as ofJosh Hart smashing his keyboard. Streamers who get three or more strikes risk an indefinite ban, which can be terrifying for streamers with a large audience and/or years of content. Since streamers have no idea what clips in their potentially massive collection of clips are copyright timebombs, many are taking the nuclear option to get rid of all of them.
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However, some streamers with huge clip collections are having difficulty clearing out their oldest clips. Others are reluctant to delete their clips as they represent mementos of some of their best moments, some of which were from VODs that no longer exist. WithTwitch’s boost in traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve attracted plenty of mainstream attention, including, it seems, from the RIAA
Music copyrights are a common problem for YouTubers and streamers alike, especially when it involves a company like Nintendo, who are know tohand out DMCAs like candy on Halloween. Because of how DMCAs and copyright laws work, many content creators get hit with claims from highly dubious sources and have difficulty fighting back. This “guilty until proven innocent” approach means that content creators are forced to prove their innocence against questionable claims. Some can even be flagged for playing the very music from a game they’re playing.
Even more worrying is how this wave of DMCAs will affect certain games that often make use of licensed music. Many streamers hoping to stream theTony Hawk’s Pro Skater1+2 remasterare now worrying that the game’s use of licensed music will get them in hot water. Not to mention rhythm games likeBeat SaberandJust Dance, which are full of licensed music. Hopefully, these copyright laws won’t make playing games likeGTAOnlineand more difficult for streamers.
