The Twitch DJ Program is an opt-in agreement that lets DJs live stream sets built from Twitch's DJ Music Catalog without the takedown risk of playing unlicensed recordings. In return, monetized channels give up a share of revenue toward music costs, and VODs, Highlights, and uploads are switched off. It covers live DJ sets only, not music in other kinds of streams.
The program went live on August 1, 2024, and Twitch last modified the DJ Program Terms on August 31, 2026. Not a DJ? Start with how to play music on Twitch.
This guide covers eligibility, the catalog and set rules, VOD limits, costs, penalties, and whether to join.
Streaming games or Just Chatting?
The DJ Program stops at DJ sets. Find background music for your gaming and Just Chatting streams.
What is the Twitch DJ Program?
The Twitch DJ Program is Twitch's licensing arrangement for live DJ streams. Announced on June 6, 2024, it rests on deals with Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music, and independent labels represented by Merlin. Enrolled DJs stream approved tracks in the DJs category, and Twitch sets aside part of their earnings to pay musicians through their labels.
When Twitch announced the program, it said DJs streaming without the rights risked DMCA notifications and copyright penalties. Enrolled DJs are eligible for front-page placement and recommendations, and you can opt out anytime. See also music licensing for live streaming.
Who the program is for (and who it isn't)
The DJ Program is built for streams where mixing other people's recordings is the main event. Twitch's announcement says it applies only to people who live stream as DJs and does not apply to other uses of music. Background music in a gaming or Just Chatting stream sits outside the program and still needs its own clearance.
The agreement covers all streaming on the enrolled channel. The DJ Program Terms exclude users in Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and Syria, and Twitch can change that list. Non-DJ streams still follow the rules on copyrighted music on Twitch.
What's in the DJ Music Catalog
The DJ Music Catalog is the searchable list of tracks Twitch has cleared for DJ Program streams, and only tracks currently listed are covered. The DJ Program Terms say tracks are added and removed as rights change, so recheck even tracks you've played before. Twitch tells DJs not to play pre-release music.
The Twitch DJ Program page puts the catalog at millions of tracks. Anything outside it needs written permission from every applicable rights holder. Music videos and concert rebroadcasts need written permission too.
The set rules: a performer, not a jukebox
Section 4 of the DJ Program Terms turns the license into conduct rules. You can't share a setlist ahead of time, play audience requests the moment they come in, run through a full album, or build a set from one artist's tracks. Every stream needs a live audiovisual performance. Audio-only and automated broadcasts are out.
Three more, on top of the general Twitch music rules:
- The single-artist rule counts side artists, not just the featured performer.
- "Full album" includes substantially all of one.
- No using an artist's or label's name or trademark to imply endorsement without written permission.
VODs, clips, and highlights
The DJ Program is live only. Twitch's program page says VODs, Highlights, and video uploads are disabled for the DJs category because of contractual restrictions. Clips are allowed only if they contain no catalog music, and Twitch scans them automatically. If your growth plan depends on recorded sets, that limit shapes everything else about joining.
The Terms bar recording or rebroadcasting any DJ performance, yours or anyone else's.
How music costs work
Monetized DJs pay for the catalog through a Music Costs deduction from Net Revenue, taken before their revenue share is calculated. Twitch says it splits these costs 50/50 with most streamers. Per Section 5 of the DJ Program Terms, the deduction starts at 12 AM UTC the day after you opt in and stops 12 AM UTC the day after you opt out.
Twitch says costs vary across monetization products and publishes no single rate on its program page. In its 2024 announcement, Twitch said non-monetizing streamers would not be financially impacted and offered a one-year subsidy. More on Twitch payouts.
What happens if you break the rules
Breaking the DJ Program Terms triggers Twitch's Music Reporting Process, a penalty system separate from DMCA takedowns. Rights holders report the violation, and Twitch escalates from ended streams and 24-hour suspensions to permanent suspension on repeat reports. Streaming catalog tracks in DJ content on a channel that isn't enrolled can also draw enforcement.
From the Music Reporting Process:
Twitch's Music Guidelines add that its own systems can trigger enforcement when catalog tracks show up in DJ sets on unenrolled channels. And under the notice-and-takedown system, platforms must terminate repeat infringers to keep their safe harbor. More on DMCA takedown requests.
Is the Twitch DJ Program worth joining?
The DJ Program is worth it if live DJ sets are the core of your channel and you want current label music without takedown risk. The trade-off is a revenue share and no recorded sets, plus stricter rules on how you build a set. Part-time DJs can keep DJ sets on a separate channel, as Twitch suggested in 2024.
Everything else on your channel still needs cleared music. Start with our picks of royalty free music for live streaming video games or royalty free music for Twitch.
Music for the rest of your channel
Keeping DJ sets on their own channel? Pick music for the rest of your streams from 120k tracks.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, if you have the rights to the music. The simplest route is opting into the Twitch DJ Program and playing only DJ Music Catalog tracks. Outside the program, Twitch's Music Guidelines allow DJ sets only with recordings you own or have permission to stream.
Monetized channels pay through a Music Costs deduction taken from Net Revenue. Twitch says it splits these music costs 50/50 with most streamers, and costs vary across monetization products. The split applies to the music cost, not to half your revenue.
Anything not currently listed in the DJ Music Catalog, unless every applicable rights holder has given written permission. Twitch tells DJs not to play pre-release or unreleased tracks. The Terms also rule out full albums, single-artist sets, music videos, and concert rebroadcasts.
Yes. Rights holders can send DMCA takedown notices, and repeat infringers can lose their accounts. DJ streams also fall under Twitch's Music Reporting Process, where repeated reports can end in permanent suspension, whether or not the channel is enrolled.
No. Twitch disables VODs, Highlights, and video uploads for the DJs category, and the Terms prohibit recording or rebroadcasting DJ performances. Clips are allowed only without DJ Music Catalog music, and Twitch scans them automatically before they publish.
