xQc risks another Twitch ban streaming Donda without Kanye West’s permission

Amid the current DMCA crisis on Twitch, one of the biggest streamers on the platform, xQc, asked Kanye West for permission to play his new album Donda on stream. To no one’s surprise, xQc received no response from Kanye, but he streamed it anyways.

In the last year, DMCA has wreaked havoc across Twitch. Streamers have transitioned from listening to whatever music they pleased, to listening to the same non-copyrighted LoFi beats.

We’ve seen several DMCA-related bans in the past, with the likes of NICKMERCS removing all old clips and VODs to avoid any strikes or bans.

xQc, who’s usually known for not following the rules has gone out of his way to ask Kanye West for permission to watch the Donda event live on stream. On August 5, xQc tweeted at the rapper asking for permission.

“I love the music and I want to share your art with my community on Twitch. Can I watch/react to the Donda event live on stream?” asked the Twitch star.

Unfortunately, Kanye didn’t respond to the request, but xQc decided to stream the event anyways and later delete the VOD, potentially risking another ban on his channel.

• Read More: Pokimane warns xQc not to challenge Olympics over DMCA strikes

xQc isn’t the first streamer to ask an artist for permission to stream their music. In June 2020, another top streamer on the platform, Trainwrecks, tweeted his favorite rapper 21 Savage, asking for permission to listen to his music on stream.

The rapper responded to the tweet saying “Fasho champ,” and Trainwrecks has since listened to his music every stream.

Previously xQc hasn’t gone out of his way to ask for permission. In July, he was hit with a DMCA ban for rebroadcasting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

A few days after the ban, the streamer and his lawyer announced that he would be submitting a counter-claim against the Olympic Committee. xQc believed the content he was streaming was “transformative content and fair use.”

The counterclaim could cost xQc millions of dollars to fight in court.