Twitch streamers playing copyrighted music in the background while gaming has faced a lot of issues lately. To mitigate this, a developer came up with a typical solution to avoid any DMCA notices.
This is to make both the streamer and the viewer use Spotify and tune in to the same song playing simultaneously. This avoids any copyright infringement and still lets viewers follow the streamer’s intent.
Avoiding DMCA Notices in Twitch Music Streaming
Distributing copyrighted material to anyone without authorization is illegal. And this is known to everyone. But, for long, Twitch streamers who’re playing games have done it without fearing the consequences.
And to this reckless act, most have been hit by DMCA notices last year, asking them to remove the content or pay fines. These complaints are triggered mostly by RIAA, the coalition of copyright holders fighting against piracy.
As they’re barred from using copyrighted tracks in the background, steamers are forced to play without entertaining music or take permission from owners. There is literally no way other than licensing, which costs a heap of amount.
But now, this could change. As per TorrentFreak, a developer on Twitch has come up with a browser extension called SpotifySynchronisation, that could let streamers play their desired music, let viewers listen to it, and still not get any DMCA notices.
Peter Frydenlund Madsen, going by his Twitch name Pequeno0, said he used Spotify’s open API and integrated it with Twitch’s API. And with a lot of lateral thinking and hard work, he made it possible to work this out by playing the same music on both sides and avoid getting copyright holders’ attraction.
This is possible by both the streamer and user adding the SpotifySynchronisation extension on their Twitch account and singing into their Spotify accounts to have the same song played by both simultaneously.
And with the help of a Force Sync button, the viewer can join into streamer’s music at the same time he’s playing and continue having fun. This extension basically aligns the streamer’s Spotify with the viewer’s Spotify.
As there is no illegal distribution of copyrighted songs, since both listen in their own machines and Spotify accounts, the artist too gets paid for this. Based on the popularity this extension receives, the maker hopes this will be developed better to use more streaming services and be perfect in the future.
Meanwhile, he listed out the procedure for setting up the SpotifySynchronisation extension to help you out;
1. The streamer installs the Extension and adds the panel to the channel.
2. Streamer starts Spotify, then starts the Live-Config panel found in the Creator Dashboard -> Stream Manager -> SpotifySynchronizer, then logs in with Spotify through the popup. The streamer then keeps this Live-Config panel open, as this is what does the synchronization.
3. If the streamer changes music mid-song, the “Force Sync” button must be pressed to update it for the viewers.
4. Viewer opens Spotify and starts any song. This is a requirement, as the Spotify API can’t start playing if it doesn’t know which device is playing music.
5. Viewer logs in with SpotifySynchronizer below the stream on the streamer’s channel. If the viewer’s Spotify does not change to the song being played by the Streamer, the ‘Force Sync’ button can be used on the viewer’s side to get the currently playing song.
