Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel, ex-Overwatch pro turned full-time Twitch streamer, has revealed his plans to buy his outro music for his streams, in order to avoid any DMCA copyright strikes or even a ban from the platform.
The ongoing DMCA controversy has plunged many Twitch streamers into legitimate concerns over permanent bans to their channels. Many have called for Twitch itself to do more to protect its content creators from bans, but it seems that the platform are incredibly limited in terms of their options.
As a result, some of the biggest names on Twitch have been forced to remove thousands of hours of past content. Pokimane confirmed that she would be removing all her old VODs, while summit1g revealed just how close he was to a permanent ban after three separate DMCA strikes.
It seems that, like summit1g, xQc is under threat from DMCA strikes, revealing in a November 7 live stream that he intends to purchase the rights to his outro music in order to avoid strikes over its inclusion in past content. The song Lengyel plays over the end of his streams is ‘Enterlude and Exitlude’ by American rock band The Killers.
He has, in the past, stated his contempt for the record labels that are fuelling the DMCA controversies, but he appears to know that inaction will eventually lead to a ban on his channel.
“Also I have to tweet at The Killers about their song, if I can listen to it for outro [music],” he said. “Otherwise I’ll buy the license or whatever. Chat how much do you think it is for me to buy the license for me to listen to the song for outro. $25k? Well, I’ll buy it regardless because I think it’s part of the stream identity and whatever the price is, I don’t wanna lose that.”
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He went to explain that he thinks it’s a “big part of the stream” and not something he wants to lose. He continued: “I’m not gonna say ‘oh the stream wouldn’t be here without it’ but it’s like a part of what it [the stream] is, regardless.”
It’s not yet clear whether xQc will be able to obtain the rights to the music he wants, but it would certainly be a big step in him keeping his streams the way they are. Even if verbal permission is not granted, xQc appears determined to buy the music, if that’s what the situation requires.