How to play music while streaming on Twitch

Streaming platforms want to protect the work of songwriters musicians and various creative artists. As a result the various streaming platforms don’t want to have to deal with intellectual property laws that might get them into trouble.

What music can I play while streaming on twitch

Music Licensed To You: If you somehow secure the rights to music, for instance if you purchased the song on the Internet or from music distributors then you are allowed to use that music on stream provided you abide by the rules of your license.

Music you own: If you sold your rights to another company or an organization controls any art you create you should make sure that you are not in violation of any contractual obligations before you use that music in a stream

As always, consult an attorney. 

Are you allowed to play music while streaming.

You can play music on your stream provided you have the rights to that music to play it on your stream. If the music is copyrighted and you don’t have the rights to use it on your stream it is possible your video or stream will get flagged.

Where can I find free music for streaming?

There are several ways you can find royalty free music for your stream on Twitch.

You can connect directly with musical artists and ask them to use their music on your stream.

This is a great way to find unique music for your stream and to give decent exposure to new artist looking to find new fans.

Here are several free website so you can download music for your stream. Most of these websites have fairly generic music they can use as background for intro music for your stream on Twitch or Mixer:

https://freesound.org/: Well the interface might be old you can still find a lot of good music here for your strings. Maybe you looking for something from a time long past. Maybe you’re looking for something unique that your listeners haven’t heard before. Anyway give this option a shot and see what you come up with.

http://dig.ccmixter.org/: This website offers thousands of hours of free music. Musicians and vocalist upload thier music and you can mix them how you like.

https://freemusicarchive.org/ – A great eclectic collection of music from all over the globe. You’re stuck trying to find something unique for your stream give this option a shot and see what it offers.

There are lots of streamers out there. If you want to succeed, you need to find positive ways to stand out from the crowd. This includes creating a unique look for your channel and social media pages.

The problem is creating graphics can be difficult, requiring both artistic and technical skills. Even worse, most beginning streamers can’t afford to hire a professional graphic artist.

Fortunately, solutions are available. Even if you’re not very familiar with graphics, free resources exist which can help you create a professional, unique look for your channel and social media pages.

Let’s take a look at how and where you’ll want to use graphics, as well as what free tools you’ll want to become familiar with.

What Graphics Should You Create for Your Stream?

There are two categories for stream graphics:

• Graphics displayed directly on your main streaming screen
• Graphics used on your main channel page and social media pages

When you’re streaming, most of the screen real estate will be dedicated to the actual game. Then you’ll want to have a smaller window showing yourself and room.

You’ll want a few different types of graphics on your main streaming page. This is often called a “Twitch Overlap” or a “Streaming Overlap.”

First, include a logo featuring your stream name. You’ll also want to include a graphic listing the most recent donations. Other options include current song title, all-time top donations and basically any other information you want.

However, avoid cluttering the screen. You want to include enough info so a new viewer can instantly identify your stream, but don’t include much beyond that. Also, be sure all the on-screen graphics have a uniform style and color.

Extend this same design scheme to all the graphics on your social media pages, too. The idea is to create one look which is instantly recognizable for your stream. This will be the look of your streaming brand.

What Videos Do You Want for Your Stream?

You’ll need a variety of videos and sounds for your stream and to spread around on social media. Each time specific viewer actions are performed, a video/sound combo will play. At minimum, you’ll need to create short videos for the following events:

• New follower
• Donation
• New subscriber

These videos will incorporate the name of the viewer as well as the amount of money they donated or the length of their subscription.

Generally, the more money you receive, the more fun, interesting and cool the video needs to be. This will encourage people to donate more money.

Emotes

Every streamer will need to create a few unique emotes. These are emotes which are only available to subscribers. Different subscription levels allow access to more emotes. The longer the subscription time, the more emotes which will be available for the subscriber.

You can either create emotes yourself or hire a digital artist to make some for you. Be careful using existing designs you find online. Twitch is pretty strict about not allowing copyrighted material to be used for emotes.

Free Resources for Graphics

Makerbook.net

This site offers a large selection of free stock images and video. Categories include Graphics, Textures, Fonts and more. Makerbook.net provides access to a wide variety of other sites which offer free graphics. If you’re willing to spend some time browsing, you can find images which aren’t commonly used elsewhere.

Creative Commons

This is another source of copyright-free images. The search functions work especially well here. Good for finding specific, obscure images.

Canva

More of a creative type? Canva is a free design tool which helps you create your own images. While Canva certainly isn’t as powerful as Photoshop, it’s also not nearly as complicated. This is a good choice if you want to make some simple images but have minimal design experience.

Gimp

First, let’s talk about the name. Gimp is actually an acronym which stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It’s an image editor suitable for professional graphic designers and illustrators. While there is a bit of a learning curve, Gimp is a powerful tool for creating unique images.

Final Thoughts

Graphics can feel a little overwhelming at first. If you’re new to the world of digital art, focus on your social media platforms and your stream overlay. You don’t need any fancy designs. Just make sure your images and logos are consistent everywhere they appear.

As you become more comfortable with digital design, you can develop your emotes and add more depth to your existing designs. The tools above are simple enough for beginners but powerful enough for pros.

Graphics help establish a consistent look and style for your stream, which helps build an audience quickly.

Strategies for Combating Stage Fright for Streamers

You’ve built your stream channel. You’ve set up your stream’s social media presence. You’ve built logos and a brand. You’ve conquered all the issues, technical and otherwise, involved in setting up your video game stream.

But there’s just one problem. You’re nervous. In fact, you’re more than just nervous, you’re downright terrified. Stage fright is a common issue for streamers of all experience levels.

That’s right. Even top streamers who average hundreds of thousands viewers each day still get nervous before a live broadcast. However, streaming vets typically combat stage fright using strategies which beginners don’t know about.

Here’s how to deliver a great on-camera performance every stream, even if you’re a brand-new streamer.

What is Stage Fright?

Stage fright is a feeling of extreme nervousness before any type of public performance, including streaming. More than excitement or low-level anxiety, stage fright often includes physical symptoms such as:

• Increased heart rate
• Dry mouth
• Vision changes (“tunnel vision”)
• Nausea
• Difficulty speaking
• Shakiness and increase perspiration

How to Combat Stage Fright

Even though you’re sitting in your home, streaming is still a live performance. Fortunately, theater actors have developed timeless strategies for fighting stage fright. Here are some tips from the world of acting which can actually help when you stream:

Turn Your Fear into Excitement

A Harvard Study discovered something interesting about severe performance anxiety. Specifically, the physical symptoms of fear closely mirror the feelings of excitement. You can actually trick your brain by telling yourself that you’re not nervous about streaming — you’re excited. This mental reorganization can instantly lead to better focus. Anxiety is a general emotion. But excitement has an obvious reason. As your brain shifts from fear to excitement, you’ll be better equipped to process the specifics of the task ahead.

Become Lost in the Moment

Your brain can always find fault with what you’re saying or doing. One effective trick is to not let this doubt get a foothold. Instead of dwelling on the potential reaction of your audience, focus on yourself.

Now, this might sound strange at first, but the audience isn’t there to see you. Instead, they want to see you play a game. Focus on the game itself. This prevents you from dwelling on self-critique.

Prepare for the Worst

You might have heard that you can combat nervousness by staying positive. Turns out, positive thinking isn’t the most effective way to stop stage fright.

Instead, you want to imagine the most likely worst-case scenarios. Then prepare some strategies should the worst occur.

At some point or another, your stream will likely be plagued by technical problems. Streaming is complicated. You’ll have issues with the sound, video, game or something else.

Trying to diagnose an issue while you’re live on the air often adds a layer of confusion. Instead, prepare for technical problems by creating a “Be Right Back” screen which you can cut to when necessary. Many streamers play music if they’re going to away for more than a minute or two.

Play Games You’re Familiar With

One way to increase your comfort level is to stream games you’re pretty good at. This reduces the need to talk because people will primarily be interested in watching high-level play. Plus, sharing game-related tips and tactics will feel easy and natural.

Multiplayer games usually draw a larger audience than single-player games. This is because multi-player games are more unpredictable, which makes for exciting viewing. The best players in the world at practically any multi-player game are also going to have the largest audiences.

Play Games You’re Unfamiliar With

The opposite strategy works well, too. People love to watch someone learn how to play a game. If you can play a new, anticipated game on release day, you can draw a lot of new viewers.

Don’t worry if you’re not very good. People don’t expect mastery from someone unfamiliar with a game. Watching a streamer die again and again in a game can actually be pretty fun. Just remember to keep a positive attitude and laugh at your failures.

Don’t Be Afraid of Failure

Your stream isn’t always going to go smoothly. Technical problems will happen from time to time. Also, sometimes you’ll trip over your words, run out of things to say or otherwise lose your “streaming mojo.”

That’s okay. No viewer expects perfection. Embrace your mistakes, shrug them off and keep going. As you become familiar with streaming, your stage fright will naturally disappear with practice.

Final Thoughts

Streaming can be a serious career. But that doesn’t mean you need to take every second of streaming seriously. Keep your stream fun, lighthearted and good-natured. This will not only make your stream better but will also help reduce your stage fright.

7 On-Camera Tips

Video game streaming doesn’t technically require a camera. In fact, Lirik, one of the most popular streamers on Twitch, almost always broadcasts voice-only streams. He’s one of a handful of streamers who don’t use a camera on a regular basis.

But Twitch is far more popular today than when streamers like Lirik started. New streamers who don’t show themselves on video will struggle to find an audience. If you’re just starting out as a streamer, a camera is highly, highly recommended.

Don’t worry if you’ve never been in front of a camera before. These seven tips will help you appear professional, confident and entertaining.

1. Dress for Success

What looks perfectly normal in real life can look busy and downright strange on-camera. When dressing for a stream, avoid the following:

• Bright colors and whites
• Stripes, polka dots, swirls and other busy patterns
• Excessive jewelry and accessories
• Black and very dark colors

Instead, you’ll want to wear solid, muted colors like blues, greens and grays. Of course, streamers can look informal and eccentric. Feel free to dress as crazy as you want. Just make sure you follow the on-camera rules so your outfit is easy to read.

Also, cameras tend to add weight to a person’s appearance. So avoid clothing which is too big for your frame, as you’ll end looking like a shapeless blob.

2. Take it Slow

Generally, nerves make people talk fast. If you’re new to streaming, you might find yourself speaking at an unnaturally quick pace when on-camera. Take your time, speak clearly and don’t be afraid of a little dead air.

Now, some streamers break this rule with great success. xQc is a famous Overwatch streamer known for his rapid-fire, mile-a-minute delivery. If you’re naturally comfortable talking at a fast pace, go right ahead. Just make sure you’re not talking fast out of nervousness as the audience will be able to detect your discomfort.

3. Practice Makes Perfect

Many new streamers worry about saying or doing something dumb. So they wind up not saying or doing much of anything at all. But here’s a secret: All streamers screw up from time to time.

The only way to become a more polished streamer is with practice. Fortunately, you have plenty of time. Successful streams last at least a few hours a day for five to seven days a week. Even if you don’t have a single viewer, talk into the mic like you have a large audience.

Besides, no one expects you to be perfect. Mistakes often help endear you to your audience.

4. Look into the Camera

Some streamers set up their camera to show a three-quarter view. This usually isn’t the recommended setup because the view can seem impersonal. Instead, you’ll probably want to use a straight shot where you’re directly facing your audience.

Treat the camera like you would a beloved pet. Don’t scowl at the camera. Don’t make long, intense eye contact. Don’t let your eyes dart around nervously. Instead, look at the camera in a friendly, non-threating way. People will respond well to your welcoming attitude.

5. Add Variety

Streams are several hours long. For the most part, the shot will remain static. After all, you’re not changing locations. So try to add variety to your streams by changing what you can.

Popular Starcraft and Overwatch streamer Desrow is a good example here. His camera shows just his face and upper body. But he adds variety to his stream by wearing weird, wild and funny hats. Every time someone subscribes to his channel, that person gets to pick a hat for Desrow to wear.

Even just some small outfit or background change can be a fun way to liven up a static shot. Don’t be afraid to try out different ways to personalize your stream.

6. Consider a Green Screen

Also called a Chroma key, a green screen lets you custom create your background. You have two options. First, you can create a virtual environment of basically anything you choose. Stream from the beach, Mars or anywhere else.

But most streamers use a green screen to simply remove the background entirely. The image of your face and body will appear directly in the game, like a cut-out at the bottom of the screen. This gives more visual real estate to the game. Plus, you don’t have to broadcast with a boring wall or room behind you.

7. Be Yourself

Finally, the number one tip for on-camera success is to simply be yourself. Don’t try to emulate the personality or look of other streamers. Be unique and create your own brand. Trust your instincts and create a stream that you would want to watch.

Not sure exactly what type of streamer you are? That’s alright. As you stream, you’ll learn what works for you and your audience.

Remember, every successful streamer started small. They had to learn what to wear, how to talk to the camera and just generally how to broadcast. All streamers take a while to develop a quality stream, so don’t be discouraged if you’re not drawing an audience right away. Although intimidating at first, you absolutely can learn how to be comfortable on camera!

5 Ways to Repurpose Your Streams to Make Shareable Content

Live content is the bread and butter of your stream. Each day, you’ll need to broadcast a live stream on your channel for at least a few hours. But what about when you’re not streaming? Can you still boost your brand even when you’re not online?

Absolutely! Your content can be repurposed to help attract a larger audience. Let’s take an in-depth look at what repurposing is and what benefits it provides for your stream.

What is Repurposing Content?

Repurposing is when you take existing content, make some slight alterations and repost that content in a different place than where it originally appeared. Repurposing basically extends the life and use of content you’ve already created.

Repurposed content isn’t designed for your stream’s current viewers, followers and subscribers.

After all, those people are already aware of your stream. Instead, your repurposed content is created to attract new viewers. Your potential audience exists across many different platforms. Repurposed content allows you to reach people no matter where they are online.

The Benefits (and Restrictions) of Video Content

Video is one of the easiest types of content to repurpose. That’s great news for streamers. You’ll have hours and hours of daily footage available for repurposing.

You’ll post your repurposed video content across major social media platforms. But each platform has different length limits for video. Make sure your repurposed video follows these guidelines:

• Instagram videos should be no more than one minute
• Twitter videos should be 30 seconds or less
• Facebook videos should be under 1:30
• YouTube videos should be no longer than 14 minutes

Don’t worry if some of those times seem short. Interested viewers will click through to another destination such as your Twitch channel, YouTube channel or website.

Upload each video natively to the individual social platform. Doing so increases engagement and views. Natively-embedded video looks more professional and plays more reliably.

How to Repurpose Content

There are many different ways you can repurpose your existing content. You’ll want to identify both the type of content and the social media platform which appeals to your target audience. Here are some different ways you can repurpose content:

1. Highlights

Highlights of exciting, comical or well-executed gameplay are great for short clips. Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are the best platforms for posting.

2. Educational

Short videos can be created to teach viewers something new about a game. Post videos with specific tactics, unique map locations and other short bits of info on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Longer walkthroughs and tutorials can be posted to YouTube. In some cases, you can create longer guides by piecing together various sections of your stream and then adding voice-over. This is a great way to cover longer sections of a game in an easily digestible way.

3. Bug Reports

Gamers love to learn about bugs, glitches or other game anomalies. If you happen to discover any unintended game functions, create a detailed video. You might also want to include a voice-over describing what’s happening, as some glitches do require a bit of explanation.

4. Matches Against Notable Players

Did you get an unexpected kill on a world champion? Did you cross paths with a famous streamer? People always like to see interactions between famous and lesser-known streamers.

In some cases, your interaction might also have been recorded by the famous streamer. You can potentially merge both videos so the entire interaction can be seen from both sides. Plus, this can be a good reason to reach out to a more famous streamer for networking purposes.

5. Add Captions to Your Videos

No matter what type of video you create, consider adding captions. There are two main benefits. First, people don’t always have the sound on when they’re browsing social media platforms, especially when they’re using a smart device.

Captions also help increase the search engine ranking of your videos. Search engines spiders are able to “read” the written captions in order to better understand what your videos are all about. This gives you an SEO advantage over videos without captions.

Final Thoughts

Streaming success involves more than the daily live broadcast. Repurposing allows you to get extra mileage out of your existing video. Plus, repurposing is relatively easy. After all, you’ve already done most of the work during your live stream.

Determine what sections of your stream are the most popular with your audience. Then develop short videos based around that type of content. Post those videos on the social media sites most often visited by your target audience.

Active social media profiles and repurposed videos are a winning combination for increasing the reach and size of your video game stream.