Twitch Launches ‘Twitch DJ Program’ In Collaboration With Four Major Rights Holders

Twitch is one of the most widely used live-streaming platforms among video game enthusiasts, artists, and creatives. During COVID, it became a 'hub' for musicians, allowing them to engage with their audiences despite the pandemic restrictions. Now, it seems that Twitch will become even more relevant to those involved in music. Between July and August 2024, the platform will launch the 'Twitch DJ Program,' a live-streaming program for DJs to help them build and grow their audiences without the risk of takedowns.

According to Twitch, the project aims to provide DJs a "safe way to create, stream, and monetize their live music content." The program is the result of a collaboration between the platform and multiple rights holders, including Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music, and Merlin. The partnership ensures that DJs can "livestream the vast majority of popular music" without the fear of muted streams, blocked content, or deletions.

Tracks managed by the industry giants are listed in an extensive, constantly updated catalog integrated into the offering. As Twitch is "always looking to grow the Twitch DJ catalog," songs that are not included can potentially be submitted by right holders. However, the platform did not clarify any requirements (e.g., number of streams or followers). A portion of DJ channel earnings will be shared with music rights holders for the benefit of musicians. To ensure all tracks are used within the scope of the license agreement, DJs will not be able to save VODs, Clips, or Highlights to Twitch.

Lastly, Twitch will provide DJs with multiple promotional features. Among them is the planned "DJ category launch, which will feature a variety of DJs from all over the world." The categories will launch in the next few months. Additionally, participants' channels will be recommended to potentially interested Twitch users. This way, the tools will help DJs gain global exposure and connect with a diverse audience.