Mixcloud has just announced a new live streaming platform Mixcloud Live. The service lets users live stream visuals – not just audio – from any standard desktop streaming app such as OBS, Wirecast and so on. Once your stream is up, viewers can chat and engage on the viewing page. And that’s it. So what’s the big deal? What makes Mixcloud’s offering more suited to DJs than Facebook Live, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram or any other live stream service? There’s one key difference.
Mixcloud has license agreements with labels, publishers and performance rights organisations more suited to DJs, meaning that music that gets streamed on their platform actually generates revenue for the artists involved, much like a radio play, but without takedowns. And while not every single label and publisher in the world is on board, having signed deals with Universal Music Group (UMG), Warner Music Group (WMG) and Merlin, the global digital rights agency for independent labels, means that a very large portion of published music is part of the catalogue.