'Content creators folded, Twitch Won': Shroud on why streamers wouldn't have needed to delete content if they fought back united

Shroud says streamers let Twitch win by deleting their content and not taking a collective stand against the platform instead.

Recently, there has been much talk about the DMCA notifications that Twitch sent out to hundreds of streamers on the platform. The streamers in question had used music they did not own the copyright to, on their channels, leading to the copyright owners filing claims with Twitch. Initially, Twitch announced that it will automatically take off the problematic content.

This did not result in streamers panicking any less, with most notable streamers deciding to delete their content off the platform. Since then, Twitch has doled out bans to multiple streamers due to their content infringing copyrights, although they were revoked within hours. The situation has resulted in widespread confusion and panic, and Shroud recently suggested that this panic is the reason Twitch streamers have ended up on the losing side.

Shroud thinks Twitch streamers lost out by deleting their VODs off the platform

While speaking on the matter, Shroud suggested that even getting licenses from copyright owners is not enough as far as the present situation is concerned. Getting a license to use a copyright owner’s content, which in this case are the record companies that own the music, means that the streamer is legally allowed to play the music on their channel.

However, this does not mean that the Twitch algorithm that detects music infringements will not catch the streamer. Although the streamer in question will be legally allowed to play the music, Twitch will probably end up banning him or her nevertheless. Shroud explained his stance by speaking about the way in which streamers have reacted.

“That brings me to the final point that I brought up earlier, you know what I am saying? If we as streamers took a united front and we didn’t just make these rational f***ing decisions and just start deleting shit, we actually could have won, but now we have hurt ourselves. So that sucks, but it is what it is. We folded.”

In a subsequent stream, he explained his stance and said that Twitch would have been forced to pay off the record labels who own the copyrights, if notable Twitch streamers had all been banned due to the DMCA scandal.

If the content creators had not ‘folded’, and had refused to delete their videos, the streamers could have ‘won’, and their VODs would not have been under threat. Talking about the financial aspect of Twitch paying off such music companies, Shroud said the following.

“Absolutely Twitch would fold in that regards and pay a bunch of labels for the rights to use them on Twitch. Absolutely they would, but they are not going to now. Because everybody is deleting their f***ing VODs.”

While Shroud’s take on the matter appears a bit far-fetched, Twitch would certainly have been in a spot of bother if most notable streamers were banned due to the DMCA takedown.