After a flurry of Twitch streamers reported they had received DMCA takedown notices, ex-Twitch superstar Dr Disrespect took the opportunity to throw shade at his former streaming platform. Dr Disrespect was permanently banned from Twitch in June of this year and has since fired multiple shots at the platform via social media or on his stream, which is now on YouTube.
Twitch has reportedly received various DMCA complaints regarding copyrighted music from 2017 to 2019 that streamers play during their live broadcasts. Twitch tweeted that it would be taking these complaints seriously and its guidelines for music would change so streamers can make more informed decisions before choosing what to play on stream. As a result of these revamped guidelines, Twitch chose to delete streamers' content without warning if any part of it contained copyrighted music. Thousands of streamers, some of whom no longer even use Twitch, reported emails from the site informing them that their content had been deleted.
Of course, no one was happy with Twitch's rash decision making, and for the umpteenth time this year, Twitch's actions garnered an overwhelmingly negative response from its community. The term "DMCA" made the trending page on Twitter, and various music artists began to post statements in response stating that their music could be played on Twitch streams without fear of a DMCA takedown. Dr Disrespect also responded to the situation by posting a link to a fan-made synthwave track featuring the streamer's vocals with the caption, "Play anywhere, on any platform... strike free."
The track, "Doctor D," is from the artist VHS Glitch and uses vocal samples from Dr Disrespect's stream while he was on Twitch. However, it is odd that Dr Disrespect didn't choose to post any of his own tracks. Earlier this year, Dr Disrespect released three singles featuring '80s synths and lyrics pointed at Twitch following his ban. This could mean that, while Dr Disrespect doesn't own the rights to "Doctor D," he doesn't intend to allow Twitch streamers to use his own music on their streams.
The Dr Disrespect hits in question are "Alleyways," "Red Skies," and "Eclipse" which are surprisingly catchy. It would be humorous if Dr Disrespect did enact DMCA takedowns of content on Twitch that features his vocal prowess. On the other hand, allowing streamers on Twitch to freely advertise Dr Disrespect's YouTube channel through his music may not be a bad idea either.
Source: Dr Disrespect