Musicians Challenge Bezos To Deal With Unlicensed Music Streaming On Twitch

TOPLINE

Artists Rights Alliance, a non-profit representing songwriters and musicians, published a letter to Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos on Monday urging him to make sure artists are fairly compensated for music that users stream on the Amazon-owned live-streaming video platform Twitch following similar concerns raised with content uploaded to YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. 

KEY FACTS

key background

Twitch was originally focused on live-streaming video games, but the coronavirus pandemic has motivated musicians to use the platform to monetize their streams and connect with fans globally. There is a fast-growing community of musicians who are migrating to digital platforms to perform “quaranstreams” during the pandemic, according to Verge. While larger musicians like John Legend, Charli XCX and Diplo chose Instagram, most indie artists have chosen Twitch because it is easier to monetize. 

crucial quote

“As Twitch uses music to grow its audience and shape its brand, the company owes creators more than the willful blindness and vague platitudes you offered during your Congressional testimony,” the letter reads.

big number

40 million. The research firm eMarketer predicts Twitch will surpass 40 million users by the end of 2021.

tangent

On June 2, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property held a remote hearing on whether the provision’s notice-and-takedown process is doing enough to prevent online piracy. A decision has yet to be made.

further reading

ARA Challenges Bezos on Twitch Royalties (Medium)

Musicians Criticize Jeff Bezos’ ‘Willful Blindness’ to Twitch Music Royalties (Billboard)

Tours are canceled, so musicians are turning to Twitch (Verge)