If you love video games, odds are you have been to twitch.tv at one time in your life. If you have no idea what twitch.tv is, let me inform you. twitch.tv is a website you can go to and watch people stream video games. Typically, Dota 2 and League of Legends will always be on top of the list, but don’t let that discourage you. They have streams of all kinds from Minecraft to Call of Duty to Heroes of the Storm so there is something for every one. In addition, it’s not limited to video games. Many people stream things like their online classes, board game play, convention coverage, and even eSports tournaments! And with literally MILLIONS of people who stream games, odds are there is someone you will like.
With Google’s recent purchase of twitch.tv, everyone knew changes were going to be made. Streamers now need to be more careful about the music they use while they stream. Starting August 6, 2014, twitch will now be searching for any copyrighted music used in gameplay streaming. Yes, this includes in-game music as well.
Twitch announced that they have partnered with a company named Audible Magic. Audible Magic works with the music industry “to scan VODs (Videos-on-demand) for music owned or controlled” by their cliental. If they find any music that infringes on the rights of their clients, then the video’s audio will be muted for thirty minutes.
The only bright side to this is that this only applies to videos on demand. Live streams will not be scanned. The effects can be seen on Valve’s Dota 2 – International channel and even Twitch’s own channel. Twitch says they are “voluntarily” undertaking the effort to help protect the owners, but we all really know what’s going on. YouTube Syndrome. Twitch has posted some free-to-use music alternatives. If you feel your flag video was flagged and muted, you can file a report and twitch will CONSIDDER unmuting your video.
In unrelated news, Twitch is dropping the option to save your past broadcasts forever. The longest you can save your broadcasts is now 60 days. That is, if you are a turbo member, which costs nine dollars a month, of have a big enough following to be part of the partner program. You will be able to save up to a 2-hour highlight at a time. Oh twitch, we will never forget the good old days.
Source: Twitch
This article was written by our own Deacon, one of the Podcast Nerds hosts. Check him and the other Podcast Nerds show here on Nerd Report every week 🙂
