Twitch Dubs Metallica Performance With Generic Music During BlizzCon Livestream

Photo Credit: Mauricio Alvarado

Twitch recently dubbed over a Metallica livestream performance with generic 8-bit music in order to avoid a copyright takedown. The performance was in support of BlizzCon, an annual gaming convention held by Blizzard Entertainment, with the festival occurring online this year in order to comply with COVID-19 safety concerns.

The video of Metallica’s performance features members of the band playing together while various tracks play over their set. The stream was shared via Twitch Gaming’s official channel, and shortly into Metallica’s performance of “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” the music was replaced by generic 8-bit audio.

Several people took to Twitter upon noticing the audio change, commenting on how the music was removed in order to avoid copyright infringement and a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown.

Metallica infamously sued file-sharing company Napster in 2000, with the case eventually aiding the creation of the DMCA. The Napster case required the company to pull down all Metallica music files from their site. Those who viewed Metallica’s performance via BlizzCon’s streaming channel had been able to hear Metallica’s performance of “For Whom The Bell Tolls” in full with no issues, while those who viewed via Twitch were the ones surprised with a dubbed performance.

Photo credit: Mauricio Alvarado

Ariel King: Ariel King resides in her hometown of Oakland, CA, where she grew up within its arts-centered community. She attended Oakland School for the Arts with a focus in creative writing and received her Bachelor's in Journalism from San Diego State University. She also studied History, centering on the psychedelic movement of the 1960s, while in college. Ariel is currently the newswire editor for mxdwn music.
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