Twitch has been slammed for providing streamers with the use of songs while neglecting to strike deals with all three major music labels as well as many publishers and other rights-holders, and lacks other rights on the songs it has licensed.
The Covid-19 crisis has boosted streaming on Twitch, which delivered some five billion hours of livestreamed content in the second quarter of 2020, up 83% year over year, per a report by Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet. As lockdown has paralysed the concert industry, many artistes have turned to Twitch as a platform for livestreamed concerts, DJ sets and other broadcasts involving copyrighted music.
“Further,” the letter continues, “we are concerned by your responses to questions regarding licensing made during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on July 29, 2020. We note that you failed to confirm whether Twitch has acquired any licenses to make copies of musical compositions or digital performances of any sound recordings on your platform. You also failed to state what action Twitch is taking to prevent unauthorised copies and performances.