2016 has brought a mass popularity to live streaming video on the web. In the DJ world, this has meant even more opportunities to play in front of a digital audience. However, many DJs have encountered resistance due to copyright issues. In this article, we take a closer look at how copyright law plays (or doesn’t play) a role in live streaming DJ sets on Facebook Live
We first thought to cover this topic after a conversation in the DJTT forums came up about receiving a takedown notice on Facebook over a live stream. Shout out to the contributors in this thread!
DJ Streaming Legalities + Music Rights
Let’s talk real quickly about copyright and DJ sets. It’s easy to assume that because you own a song, you’re allowed to play it in a DJ set of any type. According to US copyright law, this is incorrect. There are several types of rights for music, including:
- Public Performance (transmitting or performing the work in public)
- Reproduction (copying/duplicating)
- Digital Performance (internet streaming)
When you DJ in a venue, it’s up to that venue to make sure they have a license for public performance from major rights organizations. In the United States, the most common ones are ASCAP and BMI. Having that license means that DJs can play recorded music registered with those organizations, bands can cover songs, etc.
This works the same way for radio stations – but their license is for broadcast. This means that they are authorized to play music into public airwaves.
Many streaming services do not have a clear relationship with rights organizations. When you fire up a live stream and start broadcasting the hottest tracks to the internet, this is very similar to a radio station. Theoretically, anyone can tune in and hear you playing copy written music.
This is where copyright law starts to fall behind: DJ sets are not a protected form of free speech, and they generally do not fall under “fair use”. As a result, copyright takedowns do happen on various sites. Read on to learn what we know about the current state of copyright takedowns on various streaming sites:
Facebook Live
Dekmantel Day 003Ben Klock & Dekmantel’s own Peter Van Hoesen continuing a run of fierce techno out here in Amsterdam, followed by MARCEL DETTMANN delivering the closing blow – you do not want to miss this: blrrm.tv/dekmantel
Posted by Boiler Room on Sunday, August 7, 2016
Facebook is largely credited with the mass distribution of streaming tools by building in Facebook Live into every account on their site. Mobile support meant that most smart phone users now have a perfectly capable streaming device in their pocket.
Is There Copyright Detection On Facebook?
Unlike other sites like YouTube and Soundcloud, Facebook for a while did not appear to have a system for detecting copy written work inside of a video. YouTube’s prominent “ContentID” allows rights-holders to aggressively look for infringing works and issue automatic takedown notices.
In the last few weeks, a few occasional notices have started popping up for users saying that their stream has been flagged for copyright automatically – which may be a slow implementation of a new copyright detection system. It doesn’t stop the stream, but may impact how the video recording can be used after it is finished.
Is Live Streaming DJ Sets On Facebook Legal?
As far as we know, Facebook Live doesn’t have any streaming audio licenses with rights organizations like BMI or ASCAP. It’s very similar to the early days of YouTube – video is a massively growing part of Facebook, so many people suspect the company is doing everything possible to not have to address the issue and potentially hamper growth.
That being said, just because there isn’t a way to detect infringing works doesn’t make streaming legal. If a label holding the rights to a song somehow saw you using their songs in a stream, and really wanted to take legal action against you, they would have sufficient grounds to start a case.
Remember, DJ Techtools is not a legal advisor – so even though we can say it’s unlikely that DJs will start getting sued for mixing on Facebook Live, it’s not a guarantee.
Have There Been Takedowns of Facebook Live DJ Streams?
Red Bull Thre3style U.S. Finals Live StreamRed Bull Thre3Style U.S. Finals (stream 1/4)
Results:
1. DJ Trayze
2. Boi Jeanius
3. JayceeNote: the other streams were removed by Facebook. We’ll be uploading the full video to Vimeo soon.
Posted by DJcity on Thursday, August 11, 2016
Based on our research, not significantly – yet. We’ve heard scattered reports of DJs experiencing copyright-based takedowns, but because of the apparent lack of an automatic engine to detect infringement, they have tended to be few and far between.
As we noted above, some copyright notices have started appearing during streaming – but generally this will still allow you to keep streaming if you hit “OK”, but might limit the length of the stream or the ability to save/rewatch it after the fact. Details on this new system are fairly limited – we’re guessing it is still in the testing phases, and we will update this article as we learn more!
The current consensus is that most takedowns on Facebook Live are a result of someone watching your stream and manually reporting you for copyright infringement. This is good for DJs because the reach of your video (who sees it) will be most likely limited to your friends (or if a page, your followers) and their friends – and anyone who you share it with.
However, many people on Facebook seem to be abusing this “wild west” of copyright. Facebook will allegedly take down content when reported – but many digital creators have reported instances of Facebook not taking down content even when it’s a blatant copy of an original work (this is a bit different from a DJ mix, which is a derivative work).
Watch the below video from prominent YouTuber H3H3H3 on the issue at hand (note: strong language):
Read our tutorial on how to stream on Facebook Live with good DJ audio – even from your phone!
?? DO YOU NEED FACEBOOK OR GOOGLE ADS ACCOUNT WITH HIGH QUALITY???
? Our accounts good for blackhat, affiliate, etc…
?? I am the representative of the international media group,
the premium partner of facebook and google.
?? If you need more information, please add my skype: maizeclark91
https://onlineadsrental.wordpress.com/ https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/76da5389685be5a56a0be5ab0cdfc3130efd00a2750a476dcac790a22ba640b0.jpg
Hope it will be a debate on this issue at ADE 2017.
Ive a feeling no one will read this as the discussion goes on and on.
Ive have a show on a radio station in the UK, house music. The station has the PPL and PRS licences as a cafe or any other public place where music is played. So there, copyright issue totally and legally covered. I have been doing a simultaneous broadcast to the station and FaceBook Live on the Radio Stations’ FaceBook page but it is always cut off after 25 minutes and i always get the message that its been taken down for copyright reasons, often it tells me which track has been flagged up. If i then tell them i take responsibility for any action it can be re-posted. That last bit i can cope with but the fact i cannot broadcast for the 4 hours and get cut off drives me mad. I get far more listeners on these random Facebook broadcasts than i ever get on the radio station (thats been established for decades)
Please any clues let me know
Lee Jones
they flag me on everything. some how they flagged an obscure classic house/disco track (from vinyl). EVERY live set of mine gets flagged but yet i have friends doing weekly shows not getting flagged. i feel i am targeted by FB, and everything the flag my videos they remove my upload video privileges
for a week.
I know this is a old topic… I’m lost too with that , I see a lot others on FB posting and never get content taken down. I currently do post my pre recorded mixes to my FB artist page.. I’m not sure if that makes a difference…… I’m still debating on the whole live thing. Some say Btv or Boiler Room are whitelisted, which I can see that because they are like venues etc….
my dad is the best DJ I know. I wanted him to live stream and I was going to share it so that all my friends could enjoy the mixes. First question; I know that when I am in my makeup groups, the girls will play music in the background and all they have to say in the caption is; “I do not own the rights to any of the music in this video”, or something along those lines. Would that not work in this case? The girls are able to stream all their videos just fine with music being played. Also; if that’s not the case, then isn’t my dad MIXING his own songs or doing a mashup technically his OWN music? Do you understand what I’m saying? LMK if I need to explain. Otherwise, can anyone answer me, please? thanks!
I do a weekly show #livefromthebside where I discuss and play music and I run int these issues. I say the entire disclaimer and even post the fair use law during the stream. We need a tangible answer for this. I see people post entire movies
I started a live feed recently. The first week I played a mixed set of mostly imported trance from overseas which is still on my page. This past week was all classic vocal club tracks. As soon as the feed was finished, it posted, then was immediately taken down. This coming week, we’ll see what happens
If Facebook can detect the song, why don’t they display a link to where the listener can buy it on iTunes, and then us streamers can be free advertising for the artist. Seems ridiculous to be pinged for copyright, when I have only 8 people listening. Sheesh.
Couldn’t agree more.
If I am doing a video stream on my business FB page but have some music just playing in the background while I talk, is that ok? Or should I have no music in the background?
same goes for me,
When i play house music, none vocal, i dont get take downs,
if a house music is vocals, i got take down and even the block me for 24 hours for using the live stream app. i just wanna share my records vinyls, no promotion or no credit, or money. but i see boiler room have live djs set from live facebook and never gets taking down, how can i do that, ill even pay a fee. any suggestions help ? richard.hairdesigner2011@gmail.com thank you
I am thinking doing live radio station on Facebook live streaming…https://www.facebook.com/Cross-Gender-Radio-329943474049253/ I just wonder what do I need in regards to permission to play music and do live performance..
here too https://www.facebook.com/business/help/community/question/?id=10157381953980224
What about these facebook sites calling themselves radio stations and streaming cd’s that so called “indie” artists are sending them? My understanding is they are paying some kind of website for some website service and using facebook to gain audience and stream. They also establish “membership” to their facebook stream and broadcast as if they are a facebook radio station. The “members” are talked into recruiting artists that they find on the web….what a joke….and “they” somehow think they are part of the radio team. I don’t know if someone is hitting the members up for money but I have a feeling they are or why would they do it? Gotta be a gimmick in there somewhere. Example
: BlackSheep Network.
I mean, we just having fun…… WTF are they trippin about….
I jus got off 2 24 hrs stints….. Oh, the algorithm is working perfectly now…..there is a post delay after completion of upload…. during that time, it’s reading the data….. theN BANG….
I think it’s petty in general ….
It was inevitable really. Look at new EU directives targeting YouTube’s underpayment of royalties. Facebook isn’t paying any royalties to the music creators with this.
My recent Facebook live stream got flagged for copyright when I attempted to post the recorded video. It detected one track (a *very* recent DnB tune) out of a 50 minute mix! Thinking I may go ahead and post it anyway (it gives you the option…) as it will only be available to friends.
Is that wise, or should I just suck it up and delete the video?
[…] read the whole article here… http://djtechtools.com/2016/08/22/live-streaming-dj-sets-an… ShareTweet Related Terms: […]
https://youtu.be/KaOC9danxNo
https://youtu.be/IgLu6wv20JU
Just a heads up. Facebook 100% does have a license with ASCAP which covers it as a venue for digital and as streamers we are all 100% covered under this license so long as we don’t embed or broadcast the stream anywhere else at the time. I have confirmed this with ASCAP directly. That being said, Facebook’s algo isn’t singling out and ignoring ASCAP library songs. It seems to be flagging anything it detects as music not even contentID’d tracks. Hopefully it’s just algo growing pains and will be sured up soon.
Was just streaming and all of a sudden my stream was paused and i got a message about copyright of one of the songs i played. Wasn’t sure what song it was but definitely seems like the popular songs will get you flagged.
I streamed since day one on Facebook (and chew.tv simultaeniously) I never had a stream taken down while streaming.
But I havethe recording like 1 on 2 instantly removed as soon as I stop.
Always on tracks that are somewhat commercial (deep house or house).
I don!t think I had a removal on Tech house or Techno.
They have an automated system since we are able to upload short video’s (20 min max). I had video takedowns since the beginning (1 or 2 years ago?).
But I have the impression it way more agressive since 1 or 2 months now. It looks like they kicked in some labels.
Someone one here posted their Chew profile, and I’m looking into streaming on Chew now. Everyone with a Chew account, comment with a link to your profile, and what you play. I play multi-genre and my profile is at: https://chew.tv/claytonthechemist
interesting read. I’m curious as to how most the music festivals in the world are streaming live on FB. I’m registered at BMI as Songwriter/Composer( BMI CAE/IPI #: 595027334) and there is no genre tag for techno, just Dance. I would like to see proof that festivals and most clubs are paying royalties out. Be-At Tv always live on FB …
Festivals are whitelisted. But they have to pay a fee. This biggest issue is getting all of the artist releases!
The whitelist and true getting releases etc…
I posted in the forums a few weeks back regarding Facebook stopping my
live streams. My streams have been actually stopped due to a content
match that says belongs to a company in india.
(see actual email image below). It mainly happens whenever I play a
popular track in one of my sets. If stick mainly to underground…no
problems however my stream did stop to a new track I downloaded from
Beatport’s top 100 just recently.
The email comes from the “Facebook
Videos Team.” The song was in question on this particular stream was the
intro to AC/DC – Back in Black.
I haven’t received bans from site
of any sort (yet) just a stream stop/takedown and the email stating why
the stream was stopped.
Well, I have played some Beatport tunes on Chew, I have never had them taken down ever. May be time for a switch….
my dad is the best DJ I know. I wanted him to live stream and I was going to share it so that all my friends could enjoy the mixes. First question; I know that when I am in my makeup groups, the girls will play music in the background and all they have to say in the caption is; “I do not own the rights to any of the music in this video”, or something along those lines. Would that not work in this case? The girls are able to stream all their videos just fine with music being played. Also; if that’s not the case, then isn’t my dad MIXING his own songs or doing a mashup technically his OWN music? Do you understand what I’m saying? LMK if I need to explain. Otherwise, can anyone answer me, please and thank you very much
I posted in the forums a few weeks back regarding Facebook stopping my live streams. My streams have been actually stopped for “POSSIBLE” copyright infringement on Facebook from a company in india. (Acunn.com) – (see actual email image below). It mainly happens whenever I play a popular track in one of my sets. If i stick to underground…no problems.
Why are people still using Facebook for this? Have we not heard about Minds.com yet?
thanks for featuring our vid. Unfortunately FB took down 4 of the 5 vids I posted that night. You guys would laugh at the reason for some of them.
Don’t play the obvious… Like “Push it” cut me off!
Hi guys! Besides being a dj and producer for a almost 15 years, I’ve opened my own business three years ago. It’s a small bar/club and I’ve recently been doing livestreams with multicam and direct audio of our club nights. It’s a very cool and new way to get new engagement with people and we don’t mind paying some kind of license for it. We have to pay 2 kind of licenses for public broadcasting of recorded music and Facebook started issuing copyright takedowns of our live videos on our facebook page and besides that we had a temporary ban of posting pictures, videos or shared content for 24 hours. The main problem is that we cannot get any contact or licensing information on how we can prevent that kind of issues. Boiler room keeps doing all kinds of livestreams without takedown, they must have some kind of licensing and I was looking for some information on how to get that kind of license. Does anyone know about it?!
That’s actually a huge question: how does BoilerRoom get around it? Again, I’d imagine this is a “follow the money” type of situation. BoilerRoom has such a big audience I bet they drive a lot of revenue back to FB/Youtube and their sponsors, which would explain why they may be getting special treatment from the powers that be.
Bump: If anyone knows details, please share!
@djlippy:disqus @djnunocunha:disqus Basically, the deal is they have been whitelisted. So they (boiler room) are viewed as a promotional and positive recourse for pushing music into the world, so they are whitelisted because they have such a massive following. If you want to continue livestreaming, I would suggest Chew. I have been using them since February with amazing results. No take downs. Check it out for yourself! https://chew.tv/invite/ech
Thanks @echobreaker:disqus . I checked out Chew (which was new to me) but after reading their policy, it still looks like there’s no protection/license with regard to playing copyrighted material. Am I misreading that?
They have. Check the FAQ.
same here am looking for that license, i can’t even get a hold of facebook,
but Boiler room keeps having live stream djs,
if any of you got a good ideal, i like to know 🙂
I had a Live mix taken down a few days ago for a track that I played on wax from a small independent label from roughly 15 years ago….. The takedown notice was from Defected saying it was on a “Ibiza Mix” from 2014 and flagged for take copyright. The track was ONLY licensed to Defected and NOT even on their own label!!! Some serious fucking bullshit if you ask me. Without us Dj’s who’s actually going to get this music out much less buy it? This is now the 3rd time I have had a mix taken down do to a Defected interference…. #fuckdefected
Same experience for me… defected sucks balls!
Have you tried Chew? Take downs don’t happen there!
Tried streaming for the first time Saturday night. After about 15-20 minutes I noticed something on my iPhone screen. Checked and said the live stream was stopped due to copyright infringement. Also was permanently deleted. So all notifications and comment (not that there was many) all gone too.
Fascinating. Seems like this is a VERY evolving issue right now…
a friend and i were streaming a little house party where we decided to dj. He got his stream stopped for a copyright infringement. we ran a separate stream for mine. it did not get stopped but th evideo got taken down later, also for copyright issues.
we never had more than 5-10 viewers or so and they were personal friends that we doubt would report us. So i believe Facebook is starting to use some automated detection. It pointed out specific tracks: a Tiesto song for my friend and “Circular Thing (Hot Since 82 Remix)” for me. so it seems they’re targeting more popular works.
Have you looked at Chew! Free streaming and its made specifically for DJs! https://chew.tv/invite/ech
thanks. it looks interesting. i’ll definitely give it a try
It is an automatic takedown engine. Was live streaming a set two weeks ago and it got flagged, I kept streaming, then about 40 minutes later I got disconnected with a “poor connection” message with any stream content. Took about 4 days before that “poor connection” error went away and I was able to stream again. Apparently I got a temp ban
agree. as my comment above said, we had a very small stream running and we got taken down
My live stream got stopped in the middle by a copyright violation. This is coming off of 4 days that I wasn’t allowed to stream. It didn’t say why I couldn’t start a live stream, just that it was not able to start it. I’m all for paying the copyright holders, but right now it doesn’t seem like there is a way.
I’ve been manually going to the label of the violation, and asking for their permission, then hitting the restore on the archive saying that I have permission.
Have you tried Chew? There are no takedowns there!
https://chew.tv/invite/ech
thats all very well but no one is listening there. FaceBook, as hideous as it is, is where all the random listeners are. Ive used ustream before, great it works, but 10 listeners compared to 300. Its a no brainier
I had that same issue a few weeks ago when i did a “test” stream run with that OBS software. And then about 10 minutes when i ended i had a message from facebook saying it was taking down my feed because of one of the songs i played. But they let me keep it up because i put in a disclaimer that i wasn’t trying to sell the song and what not blah blah. I mean as long as you don’t put in your status or on the feed say you got the artist cd for some cheap bootleg price they shouldn’t do that
my dad is the best DJ I know. I wanted him to live stream and I was going to share it so that all my friends could enjoy the mixes. First question; I know that when I am in my makeup groups, the girls will play music in the background and all they have to say in the caption is; “I do not own the rights to any of the music in this video”, or something along those lines. Would that not work in this case? The girls are able to stream all their videos just fine with music being played. Also; if that’s not the case, then isn’t my dad MIXING his own songs or doing a mashup technically his OWN music? Do you understand what I’m saying? LMK if I need to explain. Otherwise, can anyone answer me, please?
I’m also a bit at an impasse here with regard to live video streaming. There’s no organization that will offer a license you can pay for that will cover the copyright. (For internet audio-only streaming there are micro-broadcaster licenses, and there are obviously licenses for traditional terrestrial radio stations).
All of the streaming sites (YouTube, Facebook, Twicth, Chew, etc.) have language in their user-agreements that state you’re not allowed to play copyrighted material, so if a record company/artists wants to take action, they can.
In thinking about this, I come back to Mixcloud which (as best I understand it) allows DJs to post their audio mixes, and they are under some umbrella of protection. I’m guessing some of this is based in the fact that Mixcloud monetizes their service (that labels share in the profit of) by auto-recognizing the tracks in your mix and then offering links to purchase.
If someone offered a Mixcloud-esque service that covered live-streaming, I’m sure people would gladly pay to be compliant. I know I would.
Has anyone else found a workaround, or a streaming service that functions like this?
I’m thinking of it from the other way. When I get streamed to FB, it’s from inside a radio station booth with a public play broadcasting license in place. I’m wondering if I’m going to start experiencing take downs as well.
https://www.facebook.com/business/help/community/question/?id=10157381953980224
Mixcloud pay royalties
As long as you time stamp the songs, it does.
on Facebook, now i only spin house music with no vocals. if it hears vocals, it take it down,and am banned for 24 hours using the live cam,
i try to look for number to call, i would pay to stream, it;s too bad. but how can boiler room stream on facebook and dont take downs. maybe they not in U.S or Canada, ?
my dad is the best DJ I know. I wanted him to live stream and I was going to share it so that all my friends could enjoy the mixes. First question; I know that when I am in my makeup groups, the girls will play music in the background and all they have to say in the caption is; “I do not own the rights to any of the music in this video”, or something along those lines. Would that not work in this case? The girls are able to stream all their videos just fine with music being played. Also; if that’s not the case, then isn’t my dad MIXING his own songs or doing a mashup technically his OWN music? Do you understand what I’m saying? LMK if I need to explain. Otherwise, can anyone answer me, please? thank ya very much.
There is one more license that may be required for internet streaming. If you are mixing with a video feed you will need a sync license as well. The copyright licensing is a nightmare for anyone to do on their own. I was looking into this regarding legality of cover song music videos and it is pretty much impossible to find which organization holds the various licenses for certain groups.
Can you explain what a sync license is and where to getone?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronization_rights
I’m looking at doing my streaming at Chew.tv personally. I like the site, and I can embed my stream right into my own website too. Even though FB has streaming, I’m kind of hesitant with all of these copyright issue possibilities.
Personally I love Chew.tv. I like that it auto-archives shows so you can easily listen back later.
DJs, would you
like to set up your next stream on Chew.Tv? Got questions about using the new
Chew Encoder and your Mixify account being merged with Chew? Come and
participate in the on-line workshop, Inside Chew Tech, Co-Hosted by Wil Benton
and DJ Dizzi Dee, Saturday August 27, 2PM EDT/7PM GMT on Chew.tv to get your
answers (https://goo.gl/CcfTtn).
I was looking into Cew.tv too
DJs, would you
like to set up your next stream on Chew.Tv? Got questions about using the new
Chew Encoder and your Mixify account being merged with Chew? Come and
participate in the on-line workshop, Inside Chew Tech, Co-Hosted by Wil Benton
and DJ Dizzi Dee, Saturday August 27, 2PM EDT/7PM GMT on Chew.tv to get your
answers (https://goo.gl/CcfTtn).
I did about an hour long live mix as a test run of FB Live streaming, and was notified when going to save it that it was disallowed for containing copyrighted works. I’m still working out the best way to use the tool… leaning towards shorter 5m-15m mini-sets that are either a window into practice sessions or working on new routines, rather than long-form freestyle mixes.
It’s a tricky thing, because I’m not playing full songs radio-style… more of a teaser/sample of what you can anticipate from a night. I’d also thought about doing “discovery” mixes promoting new tracks I’m into for folks, but don’t think I’ll try it now based on this and will keep those to Mixcloud instead.
Anyone else finding good ways to use FB Live without angering the copyright gods?
I’ve had archives of livestreams taken down but they archives are immediately restored if you go through the widegt that asks you if you own the copyright.
Have you thought about using Chew? Its a platform for Djs to livestream for free! No takedowns!
So my question is what’s the solution? I was trying to setup one of my friends to do a live gig, but none of his music is original, it is all copy-protected content.
it’s a wait-and-see game. Facebook needs to do the legwork to allow copyright material. IF they decide to do it.
Well, you can stream to Chew, and Chew streams don’t get taken down! Free to streamd and watch! Check it out:
https://chew.tv/invite/ech
In France, I had some videos taken down when filming friends live in a night bar, because of the music they played in the background.
It was possible to stream, but it’s not recorded.
Well, you know, Chew allows shows to be recorded and archived for free too. I have been doing it since February. Check it out!
https://chew.tv/invite/ech