Riot Games has teamed up with K/DA, one of the world’s most popular virtual bands, for a unique musical project.
On July 2, Riot Games released Sessions: Vi, a 37-track album of instrumental beats with contributions from artists like Chromonicci and Junior State.
This release is different because Twitch streamers and content creators can use all of the Sessions: Vi album for free.
Riot Games Releases Royalty-Free Music
Riot Games stated that they hope that the album and the future ones like it will help ease some of the copyright issues that Twitch streamers are currently facing, according to Engadget.
In June 2020, Twitch revealed that the DMCA takedown notices it received from record labels increased. The majority of those notices were due to the old broadcasts that had been up on the platform for years.
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In May, Twitch announced that it received another batch of around 1,000 individual DMCA notifications. For some Twitch streamers, those notices represent a potential ban from the service.
Streamers can get the Sessions: Vi on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.
DMCA Takedowns
In 2020, the major record labels started going after the Twitch platform videos that have unlicensed music. The record labels sent Twitch in a letter claiming that the platform had let the streamers and content creators violate the copyright law while raking in the proceeds of illegally used music.
Universal, Sony, and Warner Bros. sent thousands of DMCA takedown letters to Twitch for each video on the platform that violated the copyright law. Twitch immediately reacted to the letters.
In October 2020, Twitch forced its streamers to delete thousands of old videos on-demand or VODs on the platform to prevent further DMCA notices.
Despite Twitch’s efforts to clean up the platform, the record labels still insisted that Twitch pays for broader licenses of the music used in the videos, but Twitch refused to pay.
In November 2020, Twitch laid out its plans for tools that will make it easier for streamers to manage the copyright on their respective channels, according to The Verge.
The tools let streamers mass delete their videos and let them see where they stand with copyright strikes. However, that was not enough as some creators were still receiving demand letters from record labels.
The platform then released the Twitch Soundtrack, complete with a selection of licensed music. At first, it seemed like a great solution, but the record labels claim that the Soundtrack tool does not include all of the licensing that it should.
According to the record labels, what is missing in Twitch’s Soundtrack tool is the synch rights. The synch rights apply to the pairing of music with imagery.
Twitch claims that Soundtrack is fully licensed, but its argument is based on an interpretation of the law that would mean synch does not apply to streams. However, the record labels do not see it that way.
Twitch Soundtrack included about one million songs, but it does not have deals with major music companies like Universal, Warner, and Sony.
If partnerships with massive record labels and a licensing deal are not in Twitch’s future, it could mean that Twitch will go after a copyright system for live streams and videos instead.
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Written by Sophie Webster
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