Twitch dubbed over Metallica stream, and the internet thinks that’s a shame

You just hate to see it. 

The Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch made a mess of things Friday during a livestream, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer band. Specifically, Metallica, known for (among other things) its 2000 lawsuit against the music-sharing service Napster, was streaming a concert for Blizzard Entertainment’s annual news event, BlizzCon, when Twitch Gaming dubbed over the heavy metal with what sounded like elevator music. 

While the immediate cause of the mess-up was unclear, fans were quick to speculate that the swap was a result of automated systems attempting to avoid any copyright issues inherent in streaming Metallica’s music. 

Others just enjoyed the moment. 

Importantly, however, the Future of Music Coalition — a “nonprofit organization supporting a musical ecosystem where artists flourish and are compensated fairly and transparently for their work” — was quick to point out that the reality of the situation isn’t as cut and dry as many on the internet first assumed. 

“When people are encouraged to direct all their ire at the DMCA (not at Amazon’s failure to implement it correctly) or at the music biz, it improves Amazon’s bargaining position in licensing negotiations, and imperils Congress’s ability to achieve needed reforms,” wrote the nonprofit. 

Oh yeah, and there’s more. 

“Just did a giant thread on Metallica and copyright and forgot to mention the most basic fact which is that the DMCA was ’98 and the Napster suit was 2000,” it added. “Metallica isn’t responsible for the DMCA by any stretch of the imagination!”

In other words, it’s possible to think that both Metallica and the DMCA are problematic without losing sight of the real internet villain: Amazon. 

Now that’s a message we can truly rock out to.