NICKMERCS deletes all Twitch VODs as DMCA strikes roll out

In the wake of ongoing Twitch DMCA drama, FaZe Clan’s superstar streamer Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff has deleted all of his VODs and clips, while questioning the recent copyright strikes.

On May 28, Twitch revealed that they had received “about 1,000 individual claims” for DMCA strikes against content creators on the platform — surrounding VODs and clips in which copyrighted music was played.

While Twitch explains they are trying to work with music labels to find a solution, one of the platform’s biggest streamers, NICKMERCS, has preemptively responded. Having deleted all of his VODs and clips, the FaZe streamer and co-owner took some time to address the situation.

For MFAM members and fans, Nick’s wholesale deletion is a disappointing erasure of beloved content. In response to that disappointment, the streamer explained why Twitch isn’t to blame and, more importantly, why the entire DMCA debacle is a mess.

At its core, the DMCA situation is about record labels wanting to be paid for usage of their artists’ music. Recognizing how profitable Twitch and the platform’s streamers have become in recent years, DMCA strikes have risen.

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The typical backlash against these strikes is that streamers are providing free exposure, a point which NICKMERCS elaborated on during his May 28 stream: “At the end of the day, what’s going to get these artists paid is people listening to their music. And when a guy like me plays a song to 50-60,000 people … typically, when people want their songs played like that, they have to pay.” 

Noting that the issue of licensing is something Twitch has to deal with themselves, Nick seems aware that the situation is a murky one. Ultimately, he even appears intrigued by other, less-traditional solutions.

Unwilling to blame Twitch or the music industry for the situation, NICKMERCS is open to all alternatives: “Maybe we should have our own label … an MFAM label.”

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At the moment, it’s unclear how far along Twitch’s conversations have gotten with record labels so it appears that the NICKMERCS VODs and clips will remain deleted. In the meantime, musically inclined MFAM have a good reason to hope that a solution is delayed.