Tag: streaming

  • Another Wave of DMCA Takedowns About to Hit Twitch

    Another Wave of DMCA Takedowns About to Hit Twitch

    Twitch has notified users that another wave of DMCA takedowns is about to hit, to the tune of roughly 1,000 notices.

    Many Twitch users play music in the background while they’re streaming. Unfortunately, in many cases, that music is covered by copyright law. Beginning last May, Twitch started seeing a massive surge in the number of takedown requests. The first such large wave was last May, followed by another in October, with Twitch deleting the offending content.

    According to an email seen by The Verge, Twitch streamers should prepare for another round.

    “We recently received a batch of DMCA takedown notifications with about 1,000 individual claims from music publishers,” reads the email. “All of the claims are for VODs, and the vast majority target streamers listening to background music while playing video games or IRL streaming.”

    As The Verge points out, Twitch did not initially offer very good tools to help streamers manage their content and deal with the takedowns. The company has since apologized and improved its tools.

    Those improvements will hopefully help this takedown will go a bit smoother than the first two.

  • Vimeo Goes Public

    Vimeo Goes Public

    Vimeo has gone public, with today being its first day as a publicly traded company.

    Vimeo parent IAC announced in December it was spinning the streaming platform off as a fully independent, public company. A month later, Vimeo raised $300 million, bringing its valuation to $5.7 billion, as it prepared to go public.

    The day has finally arrived, with Vimeo now a public company.

    “Today Vimeo was listed as a public company,” CEO Anjali Sud wrote on the company blog. “This has been a 16-year labor of love: sparked by a few inspired minds, nurtured by patient investors, and kindled by over a thousand passionate humans who have built, pivoted, innovated, and scaled. 

    “We’ve gone through a lot of change over the years. But what has never changed is our belief in the power of video. We put creators first, and put the power of professional-quality video in the hands of millions. We built an innovative software platform, a wildly creative community, and a strong and resilient business. I don’t think I’ll ever feel more proud of a group of people as I do today.”

    Sud sees a world of possibilities post-pandemic, including reimagining virtual events. As one of the leading video platforms, and YouTube’s main competitor, Vimeo seems well-positioned for future growth.