xQc risks another Twitch ban after streaming Donda without Kanye West's permission

Twitch streamer Félix "xQc" Lengyel has recently been playing with fire on the streaming platform. The Amazon-owned company had strengthened the DMCA rules that force streamers to delete thousands of VODs to avoid copyright strikes. However, xQc still streamed Kanye West's latest album, Donda, without his permission.

The hip-hop veteran had planned a Donda event to launch his new album, and xQc had tweeted at him asking for permission to watch the event and listen/react to the songs on his Twitch livestream. Even after he did not get a reply from Kanye West, the French-Canadian streamer still went ahead and played Donda on his stream.

xQc has deleted the VOD of the stream where he played copyrighted music without permission. However, it is no secret that xQc broke the rules and therefore could face another DMCA warning and a potential ban, making this his second DMCA Twitch ban in a month.

I THINK I GOT MY CHANNEL LIVE-DMCA'd. I TOOK NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FINE. REALLY DIDN'T EXPECT IT BUT I COUL'VE EASILY AVOIDED THIS. SORRY FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED INCLUDING THE VIEWERS. I'LL BE BETTER/SMARTER NEXT TIME AND FOLLOW GUIDELINES MORE STRICTLY

— xQc (@xQc) July 28, 2021

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Kanye West did not give xQc permission to stream Donda

A few hours ago, before the Donda launch event, xQc had tweeted out to Kanye West saying that he loved his music and wanted to share his art with the Twitch community. A few hours later, the event started, and Félix hadn't received any response from the singer.

YO @kanyewest I LOVE THE MUSIC AND I WANT TO SHARE YOUR ART WITH MY COMMUNITY ON TWITCH. CAN I WATCH/REACT TO DONDA EVENT LIVE ON STREAM? pic.twitter.com/ucMgg6hYZw

— xQc (@xQc) August 6, 2021

Even with a poor internet connection, xQc made sure to stream the live event and react to Donda in front of his audience. He made sure to delete the VOD to avoid any hassle on the DMCA's end.

xQc has recently come out of his previous DMCA ban following his attempt to stream the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Twitch. He had declared an all-out war, saying that he is going to sue the Olympic Committee.

However, this might not go down well for the streamer, who might just face yet another DMCA Twitch ban.

There have been countless streamers in the past who have asked for permission from musicians to play their music on livestreams. Trainwrecks had received permission from 21 Savage, and Ninja received the go-ahead to play Drake's songs on his livestream. xQc should have followed their example and waited for a response from Kanye. Now it remains to be seen if deleting his VOD would help xQc avoid another DMCA Twitch ban.

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