DMCA takedowns are back, Twitch say they are "ready to speak about solutions"

Twitch's Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) strikes were one of the hottest topics on the streaming platform in 2020, and the problem is seemingly nowhere near a solution almost a year later.

It all started back in June 2020, when Twitch streamers started receiving strikes and suspensions, a situation that has quickly turned into a complete fiasco due to poor communication and Twitch's unpreparedness to deal with the issue and help the platform's creators.

This resulted in frustrations for a number of streamers, particularly because many were banned for some several-year-old VODs or even clips. We saw some ridiculous situations as well, like when Metallica's BlizzConline performance was replaced with generic 8-bit music or when a streamer couldn't play Life is Strange due to the copyrighted music in the game.

Twitch DMCA takedowns are back

On 28th May, it has been reported that Twitch has sent an email to the platform's content creators, notifying them of another batch of DMCA takedown notifications.

Twitch sent out a new email during the night stating they've received 1,000 more DMCA takedown claims from record labels, likely before we see another ban wave. the music industry once again trying their hardest to make the internet a miserable experience pic.twitter.com/DySLlx4YMI

— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) May 28, 2021

A screenshot of the email was shared by Rod Breslau, in which Twitch stated they want to be transparent with content creators about the issue and to inform streamers upfront about the new takedown claims.

"All of the claims are for VODs, and the vast majority targets streamers listening to background music while playing video games or IRL streaming," the email reads. 

Twitch said publishers were probably using an automated tool to scan VODs and clips and they expect further notifications from them.

(Picture: Twitch)

It appears that Twitch wants to proactively find a good solution for all involved parties in this issue, and are even shifting the blame on music labels, saying that they are "disappointed". 

"We are actively speaking with music labels about solutions that could work for creates as well as right holders," Twitch stated. "This is our first such contact from the music publishing industry, and we are disappointed they decided to send takedowns when we are willing and ready to speak to them about solutions"

Unfortunately for the content creators hit by this wave, this means that in the next couple of days they will probably have to deal with a few unpleasant surprises.

• Read more: Twitch partner Will Neff banned with DMCA strike for watching a Samurai Jack clip

The open approach Twitch has shown here is definitely a step in the right direction, but ultimately the problem can't be solved if the music industry isn't willing to cooperate, and it is hard to see what kind of a solution will be satisfactory for record labels unless Amazon decides to strike some kind of a highly lucrative deal with major record labels, which is unlikely to happen.