Covers on Twitch: what's allowed, how DMCA strikes work, and a safer setup for live music streams

The short version: Twitch lets you perform other people's songs live. It does not promise that the saved broadcast or a clip of it is safe. Most of what goes wrong for musicians happens in that gap, and settings close most of it.

This is a practical guide, not legal advice. Twitch's own DMCA Guidelines say the same and suggest talking to a lawyer before acting on a notice.

What do Twitch's music rules actually allow?

Twitch's Music Guidelines (the page is stamped "last modified" 31 July 2023) allow two kinds of music: music you own, meaning you wrote it, recorded or performed it and control all the rights; and music licensed to you by every relevant rights holder. Buying a record or a streaming subscription doesn't count: the page says that's a personal licence for private listening.

The "may not" list is more useful than the "may" list:

• Cover songs: allowed only as a live performance in your stream, or with a licence. Twitch asks you to perform the song as written and to create all the audio yourself, with no instrumental tracks or other recordings owned by someone else.
• Karaoke and lip sync: not allowed with someone else's recording.
• Lyrics, notation and tablature on screen: not allowed unless you own the music or hold a licence. Cover streams that show lyrics or chord charts break this.
• DJ sets: not allowed unless you own the recordings, have permission, or are in the Twitch DJ Program. Radio-style streams also need Twitch's written exemption.

The same page warns that Twitch's audio recognition may mute VODs and delete Clips that contain copyrighted audio.

Why is the live performance fine but the recording risky?

Twitch said why in a November 2020 post. It told music creators that it pays public performance licences so they can perform live, and in the same sentence told them to disable VODs and Clips unless they have rights to the music and the compositions.

Will Page's 2021 report on Twitch, written with data from Twitch staff according to its acknowledgements, explains the mechanics. Performing a cover needs a performing-rights licence, and collecting societies grant those as blanket licences that cover almost any song. Recordings are different. The report says there is no blanket system for sync licences, which are cleared song by song when music goes into a video.

Our reading, not Twitch's wording: the live cover sits under a blanket licence; the VOD is a video recording, which the blanket doesn't reach. The 2020 licence statement is in a blog post, not the current guidelines.

How do DMCA strikes work?

Per the DMCA Guidelines (last modified 11 October 2023):

1. A rights holder files a notice. Twitch usually removes the recorded content and forwards the notice to you, including the claimant's name and email. If the use is still happening live, Twitch may end the stream or suspend the account.
2. You get a strike unless Twitch receives a complete counter-notification or the claimant retracts.
3. Three strikes make you a "repeat infringer" and Twitch terminates the account. Strikes are not permanent, but Twitch gives no fixed expiry.
4. If you are invited, finishing Copyright School removes one strike. You can do this once every 12 months.
5. A counter-notice is sworn under penalty of perjury, shares your legal name, address and phone number with the claimant, and they can respond by suing.

There is a second track. Under its Music Reporting Process, Twitch has contracts with some rights holders who report directly. For channels outside the DJ Program, rebroadcasting a concert, playing a whole album, or streaming unreleased recordings ends the stream with a 48-hour suspension, and a fourth report means permanent suspension. A radio-style channel is suspended permanently on the first report.

Volumes can jump. Twitch said streamers got fewer than 50 music-related DMCA notices a year until May 2020. After that, major-label representatives sent thousands a week, mostly over snippets in old Clips.

What did Soundtrack's shutdown teach us?

Soundtrack by Twitch launched in September 2020. It put rights-cleared music on its own audio channel so it would not get archives muted. Twitch's developer forum said its endpoints would stop working on or soon after 17 July 2023. RouteNote reported the reason as limited use. Weigh that with care: RouteNote says its own label was among the alternatives Twitch pointed creators to.

The next licensed fix was the DJ Program in June 2024. It has deals with the three majors, and MusicTech reported that DJs split the licence cost 50/50 with Twitch, that non-monetised DJs pay nothing, and that VODs are not covered. Both were built for the live stream, not the archive.

Does original music get you out of this?

Mostly. Your own songs are fine if you control all the rights: recording, performance, composition and lyrics. If a label or publisher holds any of them, the guidelines tell you to check your contract.

Matt Heafy of Trivium is the best-documented example. Page's report says he streams twice a day, five days a week, writing and performing solo material. MusicTech reported that the report put his Twitch income at about $10,000 a month, against roughly $11,000 for the whole band from streaming and sales. It put composer Laura Shigihara at about $8,000 a month from Twitch, against roughly $700 from other platforms. These are 2021 figures from a report Twitch helped with: best cases, not typical earnings.

A safer setup, step by step

1. Decide what each stream is. Originals only, covers, or a mix. The settings below depend on it.
2. For cover streams, switch off saved broadcasts. In the Creator Dashboard, go to Settings, then Stream. Under VOD Settings, switch off "Store past broadcasts" (third-party guide; Twitch's help centre didn't load for us). Check the clip options in the same area too. We couldn't confirm the current label.
3. Play every note yourself. No karaoke tracks or someone else's backing track. For covers, Twitch asks for audio you create yourself, so loops you build live on stream are the safest option.
4. Keep lyrics and chord charts off screen unless you hold a licence. Put them on a music stand instead.
5. Separate any pre-show or break music. In OBS, open Settings, then Output, and tick "Twitch VOD Track". In Advanced Audio Properties, set your music source to Track 1 only, and leave both tracks on for everything else (Elgato's walkthrough). Check the VOD afterwards. This only helps with music you may play live anyway.
6. Keep VODs on for originals-only streams. Keep proof that you own the songs (see our India copyright registration guide) in case a VOD is muted by mistake.
7. Don't play unreleased recordings. Twitch says its systems can trigger account enforcement for pre-release or unreleased sound recordings. In our view that includes your own unreleased masters if a label controls them.
8. If a notice arrives, read it in the Copyright Claims Manager. If it's a mistake, ask the claimant to retract or file a counter-notice. If it's a fair hit on a cover VOD, don't file a counter-notice; take Copyright School if invited.

Checklist before you go live

• Stream type chosen; VODs off for any covers
• No third-party backing, karaoke or recorded tracks
• No lyrics, tabs or notation on screen
• Break music on Track 1 only, VOD tested
• Label and publisher contracts checked for originals
• No unreleased recordings

What we think

Twitch states plainly that live covers are allowed, and that is worth having. But the rules put the risk on the artist. The live performance is covered; the recording is your problem. And the Music Guidelines page still shows a 2023 date even though it describes the 2024 DJ Program, so read it again every few months.

Soundtrack and the DJ Program both licensed the live moment and left VODs out. VODs are where the long tail of discovery lives, so cover artists lose the most durable part of their work. The winners are songwriters who stream originals and own their rights. The losers are performers who built an audience on requests. If you stream covers, treat each stream as a live gig, not a recording session.