Twitch Music Rules: Twitch Music Guidelines

What makes Twitch unique is the fact that it is not just a platform that allows you to share live videos: It is much more than that! 

Twitch allows you to make a living out of your live streams while building a tight-knit community. Your viewers can:

• Be members of your channel 
• Make a donation
• Write messages for all your viewers to see
• Get in touch with you
• Make sure that their voice is heard

That is why Twitch is the preferred platform both for content creators and viewers. Depending on your goals and passions, you can decide how much time and effort you will dedicate to your Twitch channel and what streamer level fits you better.

Creating and sharing content on Twitch alone is enough to make you a streamer and part of the great Twitch community. If you decide to do it as a hobby, you don’t need to learn more about affiliate programs or spend more time growing your channel. If you want to be a professional streamer, on the other hand, you need to take a closer look at features, rewards, affiliate programs, and other ways to earn revenue. 

There are three different levels of streaming on Twitch: 

1. Hobby Level Streamer: As its name suggests, Hobby Streamer is the level for the casual streamer. Chat, analytics, and various features are available for Hobby Level Streamers. Once certain achievements are unlocked, Hobby Streamers can step up to be an Affiliate Streamer.
2. Affiliate Streamer: Affiliate Level Streamers have access to additional tools and features like subscriptions and custom emotes. Affiliates can make money through their Twitch channel and grow their follower base more easily. 
3. Partner Level Streamer: After unlocking some achievements, Affiliate Streamers can become Partner Level streamers. This partnership comes with a bunch of benefits, including more revenue opportunities, educational sessions, more custom emote slots, free lifetime subscriptions, and a lot more. 

Due to the opportunities offered by Twitch, many content creators aim to reach the Partner level. That is why there is significant competition on the platform. If you want to grab the attention of your target audience and set yourself apart from your competition, you must find ways to make your streams more appealing.

The easiest way to do so is by adding popular and interesting background royalty-free music tracks to your Twitch streams. 

It is no secret that music can elevate any content. It helps you grab the attention of your viewers, convey your message in a more memorable way, evoke strong emotions, and set the perfect mood for your content. 

That is why most successful Twitch streamers always use appropriate music for their videos. From non copyright Christmas music to chill and ambient gaming music, they incorporate the best tracks to highlight their content. 

Twitch has very strict policies regarding the music you use in your streams. If you violate these rules, you can get a temporary ban or lose your channel permanently. That is why you must learn the rules and constraints before you start streaming. 

Want to reach wider audiences on Twitch and gain more followers effortlessly with the help of high-quality royalty-free music? Then, don’t forget to browse our non copyright music library now to find thousands of royalty-free tracks that you can use in your Twitch streams to take your streams to the next level. 

If you’d like to know more about which music you can use in your videos, see our very detailed guide below. 

In order to avoid copyright infringement and similar issues, video sharing and streaming platforms like Twitch have very strict and well-defined rules regarding what music users can play in their videos. 

If you want to make it big on Twitch, you must learn these rules well and shape your content accordingly. 

The newest update to Twitch rules, published on the 8th of June, states that streamers cannot use any songs protected by copyright. In other words, you cannot use copyrighted tracks in your Twitch streams and videos. 

You are allowed to use non-copyrighted tracks in your streams! You can use open source music, non-copyrighted music, royalty-free tracks, songs in the public domain, and much more. 

If you are not sure what royalty free music means, here is a quick explanation: Music with royalties requires you to pay each time you use or play that music. Royalty-free music, on the other hand, requires a single payment. After the purchase, you can use and play that track as many times as you wish or need. 

By now, we have already covered that streaming copyrighted music you don’t have a license to on Twitch may result in copyright strikes and having your channel taken down. 

But what if your content is music-based? Well, if you are a musician and want to stream a live performance on Twitch, you will be okay as long as:

• you perform your own music 
• the songs you cover during live streams are faithful to the original (meaning you don’t make changes on the lyrics), and all the instrumental parts of the song are played by you, your band members, or a musician you are collaborating with.

Additionally, if you are a DJ live streaming your DJ sets on Twitch, keep in mind that if not whole, a portion of your stream might get muted if the copyright holders of the tracks in your set send you a notice for including their copyrighted material in your live stream sessions. In such cases, continual use of songs that belong to the same artist/copyright holder might cause you to receive a copyright infringement or get your channel taken down.

Becoming a streamer on Twitch is easy! All you need is a good, stable internet connection and a device with a camera. You can start your Twitch streaming journey by following the steps below:

1. Connect Your Device to the Internet: First, make sure that your device is connected to the internet. Then you can either download the Twitch app or visit the Twitch website on your browser. 
2. Create an Account: Next thing you need to do is to create an account. You will need an email address and a unique username. Once you created and logged into your account, you are ready to start streaming. 
3. Keep Your Streaming Software Ready: If you are on your laptop or desktop, you need live streaming software to start streaming on Twitch. There are various software encoders that allow you to stream: OBS Studio, Streamlabs, XSplit, vMix, and Restream Studio. If you are a newbie and don’t want to spend money on streaming tools, you can start with OBS Studio or Streamlabs. Both options are free of charge. OBS Studio has macOS and Windows versions, while Streamlabs only runs on Windows. XSplit, vMix, and Restream Studio require payment. If you are really dedicated or a more seasoned streamer, you can take a closer look at these options to invest in the one that answers all your needs. 
4. Start Streaming: Once you installed the streaming software of your choice, you need to connect it to your Twitch account. Tweak the streaming settings to your liking, and voila, you are ready to stream! If you are not sure about the streaming settings (such as frame rate), you can always take a closer look at Twitch’s streaming guide to find useful information. If you are on mobile, you can click on the Go Live button to start streaming immediately. Make sure that you allow the Twitch app to access your camera and microphone.

If you want to stream video games, you also need to make sure that your device is powerful enough because gaming and streaming at the same time can be a significant burden on older CPU models.

You cannot play copyrighted music on Twitch. That is the only rule! You can play music that abides by the definitions below:

• Music that belongs to you. You can play your own music on Twitch: Songs that you create, produce, and play yourself. Though if you have a record deal with a label, you must check if you have the rights to reproduce this music. 
• Music that is licensed to you. You can purchase royalty-free music through platforms like Snapmuse and use these tracks in your live streams freely without worrying about penalties or takedowns.
• Music offered by Twitch itself. Twitch has a soundtrack library called Soundtrack by Twitch, where you can find background music for your live streams. Although very limited, this library allows streamers to use licensed songs only on live streams, meaning the music you play from the Soundtrack library cannot be included in VODs or Clips.

If you use copyrighted music in your live stream, Twitch’s algorithm detects this violation and sends you a warning. After three warnings, you lose your channel. That is why you must pay attention to the songs you use in your streams. 

If you are looking for high-quality, royalty free music, and non-copyright songs to play in your streams, take a closer look at our extensive library here at Snapmuse! You can browse thousands of tracks in our dynamic library by various genres, moods, artists, and over 50 usage areas to find the best track for your content.

Yes! You can play non-copyrighted free beats on Twitch when you stream.

No, you cannot! Twitch is very strict about this. You can only play non-copyrighted music on Twitch. Otherwise, your account can be muted or even banned. 

Like YouTube, Twitch lets you know when you violate Terms of Service and Community Guidelines by using copyrighted music. After three warnings, you lose your channel and account, so you need to be very vigilant and careful!

Yes, yet you must be careful! You shouldn’t play copyrighted music on Twitch. Otherwise, you can get a warning, your video can be removed, and you can even lose your channel due to copyright violations. 

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.