A video game streaming service has announced today, Jan. 15, that it is expanding into the music arena with a new Twitch Music section of its website. It will feature a growing library of music from approved publishers and labels and allow for artists to stream their own original music through the service. Twitch music, as of this writing, has 538 songs in its catalog and has deals with publishers like Steve Aoki's Dim Mak Records, Skrillex's OWSLA, Flux Pavilion's Circus Records, Spinnin' Records and more. It is primarily EDM-focused for now, but in the site's FAQ, it clarifies that "our intention is to add music from all genres to our library."
Twitch and the music community have been closely intertwined for some time now. Krewella unveiled their first song post-Kris Trindl, "Say Goodbye," through the service. Skrillex live streamed his OWSLA holiday party through the service in December. Several artists like deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Porter Robinson and Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit have partnered with Twitch to live stream their own video game playing.
Independant dance music label Monstercat has helped pave the way for the music library with a 24/7 music channel called Monstercat FM.
The move to allow artists to stream music through the service looks to edge out competition from other live streaming services like UStream, which have thrived in that environment to date. Twitch has an enormous user base worldwide with players who stream their own games online and earn revenue from serving ads in front of it and those who like to watch others game.
Users who wish to stream their own music in a designated channel have to abide by copyright rules and have the rights to all content being streamed or else would be subject to a takedown notice by Twitch's content ID system.
The Amazon-bought company looks to take the next step in live streaming as it increases its market share that puts it in the U.S. just behind Apple, Amazon and Hulu as the most-used streaming website on the Web, according to Business Insider. It will be interesting to watch how the music component evolves with Twitch and how it meshes with the video game streams going forward.
Below is a tune you will be able to stream on Twitch:
