alright, so ...
{before i begin} as for the rash of DMCA Takedown Strike Requests issued at Twitch Streamers regarding Video Game Soundtracks: it is my opinion that the Video Game Production people should be addressed with the DMCA Takedown Strike Requests, and not the streamers WHO HAVE NO CONTROL OVER WHAT MUSIC IS SELECTED FOR THE VIDEO GAMES' SOUNDTRACKS.
whatever music is played AS INCIDENT FROM THE VIDEO GAME BEING PLAYED ON THE STREAM falls under the "FAIR USE" ACT where the streamer is concerned, even if it does not for the Video Game Production people WHO KNOW FULL WELL THAT THE VIDEO GAME WILL BE PLAYED ON A STREAMING PLATFORM AND THAT THE VIDEO GAME PRODUCTION PEOPLE WILL PARTIALLY PROFIT FROM THE SOUNDTRACK SELECTION THAT ONLY THEY HAVE CONTROL OF.
the Video Game Production people, AND NOT THE STREAMER, should be held accountable for PAYING ROYALTIES from the INCIDENTAL playing of the soundtrack of their video game on a stream.
granted, it is likely believed that streamers who stream as full-time employment, say, are profiting [themselves] from the soundtrack and that isn't true. the streamer is profiting from their playing of the video game; the video game production people are profitting from the lift in sales of the video game due to the soundtrack which is played incidentally over the stream.
... ... ...
in my About tab, on my main Twitch profile [ ], i have posted a rundown of how the "Fair Use Act" of United States of America's Copyright Act applies to a Twitch stream; well, my Twitch stream, to be fair.
even so, streamers [because the whole world (a population of 7-ish BILLION PEOPLE) is smarter than i am] come to me and insist that "Fair Use Act" doesn't apply at all.
... ... ...
since my goal is to complete the Achievements for Path To Affiliate in either June or July 2021, i have between now and then to test my stream and ensure that everything on my end is working as closely to as it should be as it is within my influence for it to be.
that being said, i will shake it down in April and May, and i might run its first test on Valentine's Day because i will have nothing better to do.
since it will be only a test, i will not engage the audience personally, so i would like to play music to serve the purpose of audience engagement, in case anyone happens to stop in out of curiosity.
i OWN copies of quite of bit of music. i own vinyl copies, compact disc copies, cassette copies, and some digital copies.
the digital copies that i own have come with Purchase Codes, which were inserted into the Comments section of the metadata; each track has its own Purchase Code, even though i've bought most as albums rather than as orphans.
so ... first thing on the check list is taken care of: I CAN PROVE that i own license to play this music, including FOR THE PLEASURE of my audience because it is for my own PLEASURE as well. to further my claim that i am playing it FOR PLEASURE ONLY, none of the $$$ generated during the playing of the track will be kept as my own profit; when i play "questionable" content, all $$$ generated during my playing of it [and i will play from only one artist/band for the entire stream] will be forwarded to the artist/band; this includes forwarding tips to Halocene, say, while i am playing their "DMCA-friendly" playlist from Spotify because they mention that the music is NOT ROYALTY-FREE even though we have their permission to play it, you know, THE ARTIST/BAND has taken on accountability for DMCA compliance so it is respectful of the artist/band for me to chip in to paying the royalties for the music that i play on stream. that's why i have also listed Virtual Tip Jars in my About tab.
second thing on the check list: even if i run a track through Zulu/MixPad and ADD MY OWN "PERSONAL TOUCH" TO IT, i won't be trying to pass the "ORIGINAL WORK" off as my own; i might list it as a collaboration, if i MIX it, and it is still NOT MY ORIGINAL work. the only thing i have the right to say about it, in the realm of "it is mine", is that i own the copy of the track that i mixed and am playing FOR PLEASURE and, if i haven't mixed it, i DEFINITELY MAY NOT CLAIM THE WORK AS MY OWN, nor as anyone else's who is not the originator according to the album from which i am playing it.
third thing on the check list: how does WORD-OF-MOUTH advertising not break the value of the work even nor raise the value of the work, except when a member of the audience [or, ok, the streamer] "talks shit" about it? so, there will be ZERO TOLERANCE for that in my stream; INSTANT PERMA-BAN. this includes requesting a playlist change, or even just a track change, because an audience member or two happen to not like what is being played. I ENJOY WHAT I AM PLAYING, and that's all there is to it.
fourth thing on the check list, as mentioned well above, is taken care of by--until i have a camera or two which i can place my compact disc, cassette and record players IN FAIR VIEW OF--playing only digital copies of the music i wish to play.
retouching on the first check box [who ACTUALLY OWNS THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN]: for the moment, my SUBSCRIPTION TO AMAZON MUSIC UNLIMITED is invalid; i have cancelled it temporarily because i cannot afford to pay for it, right now, on my fixed income. without a PAID FOR SUBSCRIPTION, i will be playing only digital copies that i have purchased, and which have a PROOF OF PURCHASE attached to them.
{IF YOU HAVE A SUBSCRIPTION TO SPOTIFY PREMIUM, say: the window that you have Spotify open in needs to be VISIBLE ON YOUR STREAM, so that you can hands-down claim that you pay for the subscription. if you don't do that, then whatever your Customer/Account/Subscription Code is for your subscription must be listed somewhere in your stream's "metadata" so that it can be looked up, verified, and matched to you. if you have purchased digital copies, play them with only the "app" through which you purchased them.}
... ... ...
US COPYRIGHT LAW APPLIES TO OTHER COUNTRIES WHEN THE MUSIC BEING PLAYED ON STREAM ORIGINATED IN USA. when a stream sourced in USA plays music from another country, it is the originating country's copyright laws which apply; there is language in US Copyright law which defers DMCA Takedown Strike Request rights to a foreign country, when the production AND RELEASE of the music took place in that other country.
generally, when an album [say] is produced in another country and realeased in USA, it is listed so in the album's Production Credits.
... ... ...
while i'm at it: WIKIPEDIA IS A RESOURCE, NOT A SOURCE, OF INFORMATION. DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK!
