Millions of users turn to Twitch when it comes to broadcasting their gameplay sessions and other events to a wide audience, but some were a little bitter last year when the company introduced copyright protection software that would block out audio from certain songs on their streams. However, today, Twitch came up with a viable solution that should certainly ease the tension in this area – a curated music library.
According to TechCrunch, Twitch has launched a new Music Library service, which users can use to play in the background of their gaming sessions without fear of having their audio blocked out. The 500-song collection is consistently curated, and can be used in any broadcast for no charge to broadcasters. It’s not only helping make streams more interesting, it’s helping music makers market their tunes.
The service is a win-win for the company, as it also opens up a venue for artists that are looking to expand their exposure to a wider audience. “Music labels came to us saying, “We’d love to work with you to get our music into the hands of broadcasters to help promote albums launching,” said Twitch Chief Strategy Officer Colin Carrier, speaking with TechCrunch. “There’s already a growing backlog of things we want to add to this. This is something we want to add to monthly, weekly even.”
Some strong labels have already signed on with the service. Monstercat provides a heaping dose of powerful electronic music that will help energize various gameplay sessions (whether they’re Call of Duty or League of Legends), and others are expected to be on board soon with their various offerings.
In addition, the deal could open up exposure to more artists taking part in gameplay sessions. Last month, popular DJ DeadMau5 took part in a Diablo III session on his devoted Twitch channel, attracting a large audience of viewers.
Electronic music isn’t the only focus of the music service, as Carrier is also looking into bringing various bands that focus on hip-hop, alternative rock and metal as well.
Twitch is also pushing artists to produce their tracks live and also check each others’ work over through promotional streams, as suggested on its page. This could help broaden a new music-based community for the channel, and, on top of that, expand the tunes that users can utilize on a regular basis. Interested artists with a large YouTube following are being directed to an online application to take part in the program.
While this won’t quite give users the freedom to blare whatever tunes they see fit (sorry, most of the big boys are still copyrighted), this at the very least provides a new venue for users to take advantage of, whether they’re an avid game player or an up-and-coming musician.
