YouTube compels widely-used Discord music bot to cease operations.
In a recent development, YouTube, the tech giant's subsidiary, has made some potentially game-changing moves. Two weeks back, they forced the Groovy bot, a popular Discord music source, offline. This seemed to be just the beginning, as Discord's beloved music bots, especially Rythm, faced a cold shoulder next.
A cease-and-desist letter from YouTube reportedly compelled Rythm to bow out within a week. For years, these bots have been a community-building lifeline on Discord, providing a means for shared playlists. With an estimated 560 million Discord users, Rythm, the frontrunner, boasts about 30 million active monthly users.
Before the shutdown, Rythm users could supply YouTube links to the bot, which would then create a groovy playlist for all in the voice channel. They announced their intentions to comply with the legal notice, with a plan to close shop on September 15.
Preparing for the inevitable, the folks behind Rythm have been working on something revolutionary in the music realm for the past year. Although they can't reveal much yet, they urge their users to hang in there and subscribe to their newsletter for updates.
The bot's creators, who used YouTube to provide background tunes for Discord users, had been bracing for an abrupt shutdown, particularly given the heightened interest of YouTube's legal teams and the RIAA in third-party activities that flout the platform's terms of service.
"The writing on the wall was clear," Yoav, the architect of Rythm bot, conveyed to The Verge via Discord. "Groovy receiving a legal notice meant it was just a matter of time before Rythm met its end."
YouTube's aggressive stance isn't just limited to Groovy and Rythm. Over the past year, it has shut down numerous popular video download sites, including YouTube-DL, presumably due to copyright infringement.
Yoav predicts that other music bots will face similar legal action in the coming weeks. "Discord without music bots would be a tough pill to swallow for the community," Yoav added. "They've become an integral part of the experience and bring so much fun and engagement. It's a sad farewell to an era."
- The aggressive stance of YouTube isn't restricted to Groovy and Rythm; over the past year, it has also closed down numerous popular video download sites.
- Yoav, the creator of Rythm bot, knew that an abrupt shutdown was imminent, given the heightened interest of YouTube's legal teams and the RIAA in third-party activities that violate the platform's terms of service.
- For years, Rythm has been a community-building lifeline on Discord, providing a means for shared playlists, particularly for its 30 million active monthly users.
- Preparing for the inevitable, the creators of Rythm have been working on something revolutionary in the music realm for the past year, urging their users to hang in there and subscribe to their newsletter for updates.
