# The short answer, case by case
Kick's pages settle some cases directly and leave others open. The table separates what Kick says from what it does not address. Each row is explained further down.
| Case | What the pages say | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Music you wrote and recorded yourself | Your content stays yours. The Terms only require that it infringes no one's rights | Kick Terms of Service |
| Music from a library or service you pay for | Kick names no music service or licence. Its Terms require that your stream infringes no one's rights, so the licence terms decide | Kick Terms of Service |
| Copyrighted songs you have no rights to | Copyright infringement, listed among the common reasons for enforcement | What gets you suspended on KICK |
| Songs from Spotify | Kick does not mention Spotify. Spotify lists broadcasting among the uses it does not permit | Spotify User Guidelines |
| Music inside a game you are playing | Not addressed | None of the 153 help articles |
| DJ sets and live performances | Kick describes its Music category as live music performances and DJ sets. Licensing for them is not addressed | Kick homepage help article |
| Song requests as a Channel Points reward | Given as an example of a custom reward. Which songs are allowed is not addressed | Guide to channel points for Streamers |
| Music on your phone while screen sharing in the Kick app | Shared with the stream by default. You can mute screen audio | Kick Go Live screen sharing article |
| A confirmed DMCA notice against your stream | Content removed and a strike recorded. The third strike ends in a ban | DMCA Strike System |
Sources for the table: Kick's Terms of Service,[1] its suspension article,[2] Spotify's User Guidelines,[4] Kick's homepage guide,[5] its Channel Points guide,[6] its screen sharing article[7] and its DMCA Strike System.[3]
# What Kick's rules say about music
There is no single page. Of the 153 articles linked from the collection pages of Kick's English Help Center on 30 September 2026, 20 mention music, copyright or DMCA. Only one, the DMCA Strike System article in the Safety Hub, is about copyright.[3] The rest of the rules sit in Kick's policy pages. We read all of them on that date.
| Kick page | Date shown | What it says about music and copyright |
|---|---|---|
| Terms of Service | 23 March 2026 | Your content remains yours, and you warrant that it will not infringe third-party rights. Copyright complaints go through the DMCA policy |
| Community Guidelines | 19/03/2026 | Guideline 10, Lawfulness: follow local law, including on copyright and intellectual property. Serious or repeated offences may mean suspension or removal |
| DMCA Policy | None shown | How notices and counter-notices work. Repeat infringers are suspended or terminated, and blatant infringers can be terminated without repeat infringement |
| What gets you suspended on KICK | May 11, 2026 | Copyright infringement, including playing copyrighted music without rights, is a common reason for enforcement |
| DMCA Strike System | May 29, 2026 | Three strikes: notice, enhanced monitoring, ban. Strikes expire after a period that is not given |
| How to join the KICK Partner Program | July 7, 2026 | Partner applicants must follow the DMCA Policy |
| Grounds for revoking or refusing verification or the KICK Partner Program | May 22, 2026 | Respecting intellectual property is on the list of guidelines for keeping verification or Partner status |
The Terms of Service. They list music among the kinds of content you can post, and say: "The User Content you create remains yours." In return you warrant that your content "will not violate any law or infringe any rights of any third party, including any Intellectual Property Rights and privacy rights".[1] The Terms name no music service and no type of licence.
The Community Guidelines. Guideline 10 requires creators to follow local law: "This includes regulations related to copyright, intellectual property, trespassing, illicit substances, public nuisance, and any activity that may endanger themselves or others." Kick weighs "both the severity and frequency" of violations.[9] Its plain-language summary of the guidelines lists music among the content Kick supports and copyright under Lawfulness.[10]
The suspension list. Kick's article on what gets channels suspended lists "Copyright infringement" among content violations, "including playing copyrighted music or content without rights". The same article says: "Most violations result in warnings or smaller actions before escalating."[2]
Partner and verification. Partner applicants must follow Kick's DMCA Policy,[11] and Kick's grounds for revoking verification or Partner status include: "Respect intellectual property rights and avoid unauthorised use of copyrighted content."[12] The rest of the Partner checklist is in the Kick Partner requirements guide.
# The music guide Kick points to but has not published
Six Kick help articles refer readers to an article called DMCA strikes: what to do if you receive one: five in their related articles lists, and one next to Kick's DMCA contact address. Two of them also list Music on stream: what you can and cannot play. The suspension article names the music guide in its copyright line as well: "see DMCA Policy and Music on stream: what you can and cannot play".[2]
Neither title is a link, and neither article is in Kick's English Help Center. They are not among the 153 articles linked from its collection pages, and Kick's help search for music, copyright and dmca did not return them on 30 September 2026. The closest page is the DMCA Strike System article, which covers strikes and counter-notifications. No Kick help page lists which music you can play.[3]
| Kick help article | Date shown | Points to |
|---|---|---|
| What gets you suspended on KICK | May 11, 2026 | Both guides |
| Audio issues on your KICK stream | May 12, 2026 | Both guides |
| Understanding KICK's Community Guidelines | May 22, 2026 | DMCA strikes: what to do if you receive one |
| Suspension and ban appeals process | May 11, 2026 | DMCA strikes: what to do if you receive one |
| How KICK reviews user reports | May 21, 2026 | DMCA strikes: what to do if you receive one |
| My VOD is missing or not appearing after my stream | May 12, 2026 | DMCA strikes: what to do if you receive one |
The six articles, in the order of the table.[2][13][10][14][15][16]
A fix that is promised but not there. Kick's audio troubleshooting article opens with the problems it covers, including when "your music has been muted". Its sections cover a microphone viewers cannot hear, audio out of sync, rejected audio settings, separate game and microphone audio, and echo. None covers muted music.[13]
# How Kick's DMCA strikes work
Kick's DMCA Strike System article, dated May 29, 2026, describes a "progressive strike system" with three steps.[3]
| Strike | What Kick does | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| First strike | Records the strike in Kick's internal systems | A notification explaining the violation, guidance on copyright compliance and a counter-notification notice |
| Second strike | Records the strike and adds the account to an enhanced monitoring system | A second warning notification with the same guidance and counter-notification notice |
| Third strike | Records the final strike and bans the account for repeat infringement | A letter advising of the outcome, the steps taken and your options |
How a strike happens. Kick lists five steps. It reviews each DMCA takedown notice for completeness and validity, evaluates the content against the notice, removes infringing content, applies a strike and remedial action if the violation is confirmed, and informs the account holder.[3]
Strikes expire, but Kick does not say when. "Strikes automatically expire in accordance with KICK policy, if no additional copyright violations occur during that period." Once expired, a strike no longer counts toward the next penalty.[3] No period appears in that article, in the other 152 help articles, or in the Terms of Service, the Community Guidelines or the DMCA Policy as read on 30 September 2026.[1][9][17]
Three strikes is not a promise of two warnings. Kick's DMCA Policy says Kick may terminate the accounts of users who blatantly infringe "whether or not repeat infringement has occurred", for example after a court rules that the account holder is an infringer.[17] The Community Guidelines weigh severity as well as frequency.[9] Each Kick page describes enforcement in its own way.
| Kick page | How it describes enforcement |
|---|---|
| DMCA Strike System | A fixed ladder: notice, enhanced monitoring, ban on the third strike |
| DMCA Policy | Repeat infringers are suspended or terminated, and blatant infringers can be terminated without repeat infringement. No strike count is given |
| Community Guidelines | Severity and frequency both count. Serious or repeated offences may mean suspension or removal |
| What gets you suspended on KICK | Most violations get warnings or smaller actions first, and repeated violations get more severe enforcement |
# If you receive a DMCA notice or strike on Kick
Kick describes two routes for disputing a decision, and they go to different addresses.
- Read the notification. Kick says its first and second strike notifications explain the violation and include a counter-notification notice.[3]
- If you believe the content was removed in error, you can send a counter-notification. Kick's strike article sends counter-notifications to dmca@kick.com and says Kick will review valid ones and "may restore content if appropriate under applicable law".[3]
- Include what Kick's DMCA Policy asks for: the URLs where the removed material appeared, the name of the claimant, your Kick channel name, your full legal name, email, full postal address and phone number with international code, and a signed statement consenting to the jurisdiction of a US federal court. Kick's wording: "The Counter-Notice is a legal document and must comply with the requirements of the DMCA".[17]
- The policy mentions agreement first. "If it is not possible to come to an agreement with the reporting copyright owner, the content owner may submit a DMCA Counter-Notice".[17]
- Suspensions under the Community Guidelines are appealed to appeals@kick.com. Kick says appeals sent through other channels cannot be processed, and "Appeals do not pause your suspension."[14]
Kick's pages do not say which route applies to a ban that follows a third DMCA strike. The strike article says only that you receive a letter advising of the outcome, the steps taken and your options.[3] The two pages also give rights holders different addresses for takedown notices: the DMCA Policy uses dmca@kick.com, while the strike article uses takedownnotices@kick.com. Both send counter-notifications to dmca@kick.com.[17][3]
# Kick vs Twitch: how the strike rules compare
Twitch's DMCA Guidelines, which show "Last modified on 10/11/2023", also stop at three strikes: "a user will be considered a repeat infringer if they accrue three copyright strikes". They publish more of the rules around those strikes than Kick does.[8]
| Rule | Kick | Twitch |
|---|---|---|
| Strikes before a ban | Three. The third ends in a ban for repeat infringement | Three. A user with three copyright strikes is a repeat infringer |
| The step in between | The second strike adds enhanced monitoring | Not described |
| Termination without three strikes | Possible for blatant infringement | Possible for accounts acting against the Terms of Service or Twitch values, regardless of strike count |
| How long a strike lasts | Expires automatically. Period not published | Not permanent. Period not published |
| Removing a strike early | Not described | Copyright School removes one strike, once every 12 months, when you are invited |
| Disputing a notice | Counter-notification | Counter-notification, or a retraction from the rights holder. Disputed notices generally do not count as strikes until resolved |
Twitch states that "Strikes are not permanent" and that "You can take Copyright School once every 12 months."[8] Kick's pages mention neither a course nor a retraction. If you stream to both platforms, see the rules for streaming on Twitch and Kick at the same time, and for music options on Twitch, the Twitch music guide. The wider differences are in Kick vs Twitch.
# Playing music on Kick with fewer surprises
- Know where each track comes from. Kick's Terms make you responsible for your content not infringing anyone's rights.[1]
- Read the licence of any music service you use. Kick names none, so check whether the service's terms cover live streaming and replays. Spotify's Terms of Use, for example, grant "personal, non-commercial use",[18] and its User Guidelines list "broadcasting, or making available to the public" among the uses that are not permitted.[4]
- Put music on its own audio source. Kick's audio article shows how to set up desktop audio and microphone as separate sources so you can control each one independently.[13] A separate music source can be muted the same way without cutting your voice.
- Check screen audio on mobile. In the Kick Go Live app, "By default, audio from your screen is shared along with the video." That includes music. You can mute screen audio and keep only your microphone.[7]
- Set rules for song requests. Kick suggests letting viewers "request a song" as a Channel Points reward but says nothing about which songs.[6] Limiting requests to music you have rights to keeps the reward inside Kick's copyright rules.
- Keep your licence details. A counter-notification is a signed legal statement, and the DMCA Policy lists what it must contain.[17]
- Ask before you stream it. Kick's suspension article suggests contacting Kick support with a specific question before streaming the content.[2]
Music keeps a stream watchable. Viewers make it grow
Streamrise delivers Kick viewers over a window you set in the dashboard, from 30 minutes to a month, and needs only your channel link, not your Kick password. Kick's Community Guidelines prohibit using bots, engagement manipulation or third-party tools to artificially inflate views, followers or interactions. Read them and decide for yourself.
- 30 min to a month, you set the window
- No password
# The bottom line
You can play music on Kick that you own or have the rights to broadcast. Anything else is copyright infringement under Kick's rules, and a confirmed DMCA notice removes the content and adds a strike, with a ban on the third.[2][3] What Kick has not published is a list of what you can play, how long a strike lasts, and the music guide its own help pages point to. Until it does, the licence of the music you use is the only rule you can check.
# FAQ
Can you play music on Kick?
Yes, if you own the music or have the rights to broadcast it. Kick's Terms require that your content does not infringe anyone's rights, and Kick lists playing copyrighted music without rights as copyright infringement.
Can you play copyrighted music on Kick?
Not without the rights to it. Kick lists playing copyrighted music or content without rights among the common reasons for enforcement, and a confirmed DMCA notice leads to removal and a strike.
Can you play Spotify on Kick?
Kick's pages do not mention Spotify. Spotify's Terms of Use grant personal, non-commercial use, and its User Guidelines list broadcasting among the uses that are not permitted.
Does Kick have copyright strikes?
Yes. Kick's DMCA Strike System has three strikes: a notification, then enhanced monitoring, then a ban for repeat infringement on the third.
Do DMCA strikes on Kick expire?
Yes, automatically, if no further copyright violations occur. Kick does not publish how long that takes.
Does Kick mute copyrighted music?
Kick's help pages do not describe automatic muting. They describe DMCA notices from rights holders, after which infringing content is removed.
Can you listen to music while streaming on Kick?
Music that only you hear is not part of the broadcast. Music your encoder or the Kick app captures is, and Kick's app shares screen audio by default when you screen share.
Is Kick copyright free?
No. Kick's Community Guidelines require creators to follow copyright law, its Terms require that your content infringes no one's rights, and its DMCA Strike System bans an account on the third strike.