If you are considering becoming a streamer on Twitch and think that the “Now Playing on Spotify” overlay you have seen on the Twitch feed of other streamers might be a sign saying that the use of music on Spotify is allowed on Twitch, we need to tell you that this is not the case at all.
Perhaps, you might have come across some sources telling that as long as you remove copyrighted music from your VODs before you publish them, playing music from Spotify during your Twitch live streams will be okay.
However, using music from Spotify that you do not own the rights to will still put your Twitch account at risk for copyright strikes, whether it is played during a live stream or included in the VOD you share afterward.
But isn’t there any way to play songs that are available on Spotify on Twitch live streams? Well, actually, there is - but it does not necessarily apply to all songs on Spotify.
Twitch introduced Soundtrack by Twitch back in September 2020 to allow its streamers to play licensed music during their live streams. The Soundtrack library has various songs that are also available on other music distribution platforms as well, such as Spotify, Apple Music, and so on.
What this means is that while streamers are still not allowed to play music from Spotify, it is possible that the songs they feature on their live streams by using the “Soundtrack by Twitch” overlay might also be available on Spotify’s music library as well.
Here’s more of what you need to know about Soundtrack by Twitch:
- Soundtrack is only available for live streaming on Twitch, meaning that the audio played from Soundtrack’s music library has to be trimmed out from VODs to prevent copyright infringements.
- Its music library cannot be used on other platforms outside of Twitch.
- Streamers need to set up Soundtrack correctly to avoid copyright strikes.
- It cannot be used to soundtrack pre-recorded content.
- The streaming software compatible with Soundtrack are Twitch Studio, OBS, and Streamlabs Desktop.
Lastly, please keep in mind that various music labels can now detect if a copyrighted song is being used during live streams by scanning and monitoring live streams with content recognition technologies across various platforms, including Twitch.
If copyright owners find that their copyrighted content is being used without permission, they may request a takedown under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which can result in the streamer’s channel getting banned from Twitch.