We have been asked many times about the rules of playing Spotify music on Twitch, as in the past streamers have been seen playing copyrighted songs on their stream with any real consequence, with muted VODs being the worst reported punishment.
This changed in 2020 when two record labels began filing DMCA takedown notices against many Twitch channels which had copyright music in their VODs, this caused many accounts to receive DMCA strikes.
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Can you play Spotify music on Twitch?
The short answer is No, you are not legally allowed to play Spotify music on Twitch live streams, your channel could receive a DMCA takedown notice and ultimately could lead to your account being terminated, with the exception being if you have explicit permission from the copyright holder.
The long answer:
Spotify subscriptions give you a license to listen to the music, however, it doesn’t give you the license to broadcast the music or in our case use the music on Twitch live streams.
In order to broadcast Spotify music or any other music on Twitch, you will need the explicit permission of the copyright holder, without this permission the copyright holder could file a DMCA takedown notice against your account.
If you get a DMCA takedown notice, your account will get a DMCA strike and you will be required to delete the content which contains the copyrighted material.
Note – Twitch accounts will be terminated if they receive three DMCA strikes.
Spotify does have some copyright-free / royalty-free music on their platform which are usually which can usually be found in “copyright-free” or “royalty-free” playlists.
This music is safe to broadcast or play on stream, however, it’s still the streamer’s responsibility to ensure the music is actually copyright-free.
Note – Copyright-Free or Royalty-Free is music that nobody owns the copyright to and doesn’t require anyone’s permission to play.
FAQ
I’m a small streamer, should I care about DMCA?
Yes, although it’s mainly been larger more well-known streamers to have received DMCA notices, smaller streamers have also been targeted.
I’ve heard DMCA only affects VODs, so can I just not save my VODs?
Currently, there have been no reports that live streams have been the target of DMCA notices, however, its been confirmed the technology already exists to
