• by Colin Kirkland , February 3, 2022

Leading interactive live-streaming service Twitch announced a partnership on Wednesday with digital independent music-licensing firm Merlin.

The deal will provide new earnings options and marketing channels for Merlin members and artists while expanding Twitch’s increased focus on music-based programming.  

Twitch, bought by Amazon in 2014, has become a widely popular platform on which artists create content, interact with fans, and make money.

With Merlin’s representation of tens of thousands of independent labels globally, the new relationship aims to create a dedicated support network that connects members and artists.  

While the COVID-19 pandemic surged in 2020 and 2021, live experiences -- including concerts, sports events, and gaming –– helped Twitch’s user base boom. 

With this new agreement, Merlin members can expect exclusive live experiences, according to a recent statement. 

Twitch’s recently launched artist incubator program, The Collective, is one example of this. 

"I’m pleased that our team found a path for Merlin members and their artists to better engage fan communities across the Twitch ecosystem, whether in music, gaming or beyond,” says Jeremy Sirota, Merlin CEO. 

“The relationship between fan and artist has been transformed, and we're proud to offer a new pathway to success for so many artists,” says Tracy Chan, vice president and head of music at Twitch.

In 2020, Twitch became littered with takedown notices. Streamers were largely violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, which moved Twitch to force streamers to remove thousands of clips featuring licensed music. Some streamers lost everything they had created. 

This agreement with Merlin comes in a line of other partnerships that Twitch has made to make amends with the recording industry.

Twitch is directly involved in the deal that Amazon struck with Universal Music last week, granting Amazon Music users access to Universal’s catalog of HD music. Twitch will work with Universal to give artists incentives, such as commercial opportunities, when engaging with fans. The live-streaming platform will also feature artist and label channels as well. 

Before that, in September 2021, Twitch made a similar deal with Warner Music Group that launched various recording artist channels and a stand-alone music space featuring premium music-centric programming. 

Around that time, Twitch also partnered with the National Music Publisher’s Association (NMPA), which, according to the platform’s statement, made it “more flexible and forgiving to creators who inadvertently or incidentally use music in their streams.” 

Still, this doesn’t mean that users can feature licensed music.

Streamers now receive warnings before dealing with immediate repercussions. Twitch has created a process that enables participating music rights holders –– including Merlin and its members –– to report certain unauthorized uses of their music.