Yet More Music Bots Have Been Shut Down by YouTube...

Discord bots ProBot and Hydra have been widely used by Discord users for various purposes, such as moderation, fun commands, and more. However, the popular bots are now set to have their music features removed by YouTube, as they have been found to violate the platform's policies.

A music bot on Discord is one that pulls a song from a music streaming site, such as SoundCloud, Spotify and YouTube, and plays it in a voice channel for everyone in the call to enjoy. However, YouTube don't like Discord bots using their platform to stream music, so are doing what they can to put a stop to it.

In 2021, YouTube sent out cease and desist letters to much-loved music bots, Groovy, FredBoat and Rythm. This letter basically said that these bots can either shut down entirely or stop using YouTube as a platform for streaming music.

Recently, beloved bots ProBot and Hydra both received the same letters regarding their use of the YouTube platform for the Music feature.

Once the messages went out in the relevant support servers, users took to Reddit to convey their disdain. Many users are angry with YouTube for this decision, and are suggesting alternative ways to vibe to music in your Discord calls.

Unlike Groovy and Rythm, Hydra and ProBot are multipurpose bots, with other features beside Music, such as Moderation, Utility and Fun commands. Therefore, these bots will continue to operate, just without their music features.

Update since time of writing:
A representative from the bot - who will remain anonymous at their request - has reached out to us to clarify that Hydra dropped YouTube music features in October of 2021, around about the same time as Groovy and Rythm received Cease and Desist letters - a legal letter that basically says "stop doing this or we sue". Hydra are now simply taking steps to remove all Music features from the bot - not just using other music sources, music commands will be going full stop.

The main issue that YouTube has with music bots is that the company has been facing pressures from copyright holders. None of the cease and desist letters contained anything regarding the monetization of these bots, and the developers don't think YouTube are realistically bothered about the monetization features of these bots, and they are simply being pressured by the copyright holders of the music to stop allowing bots to use YouTube's API to stream music to Discord.

The termination of Discord's ProBot and Hydra bots music features is a significant loss for the Discord community, as many people like music bots, and enjoy being able to vibe with friends whilst gaming, for example.

YouTube's forceful hammer on music features on Discord is a clear demonstration of the platform's commitment to maintaining a safe and fair environment for all users. The platform's policies are designed to protect users and ensure that the platform remains a trustworthy source of information and entertainment.

What's Next?

Well, probably more of the same. YouTube want to be seen as relentlessly going after the music bots that are exploiting their services, so will probably shut down more bots using their platform.

If you still want to enjoy music in your Discord server, a small, self-hosted bot may be the key solution. Alternatively, if you have Nitro, you can always use Discord's "Watch Together" feature from YouTube to play music videos.

Well, that's all that we have time for today folks. If you want to keep the conversation going, make sure to join the Netcord HQ Discord server, where you can stay in the loop with all things Netcord, or even suggest your own articles for us to write and see your name in lights! Have a great day!

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