As we speak we mourn one other Discord music bot that has met the wrath of YouTube: the favored Vexera music bot has discontinued its music performance after receiving a stop and desist discover from the streaming big.
“On the 4th of July we now have obtained a discover from YouTube demanding we stop exercise of streaming audio from YouTube as a part of our music characteristic,” reads a discover on the Vexera website. “YouTube is integral to the music characteristic and we can not proceed with out it.”
The Vexera music bot, like many earlier than it, provided a handy approach to hearken to music synchronized with different individuals in voice chat. With a easy search command, the bot would search YouTube, discover the video you’re on the lookout for, and stream its audio to everybody within the channel. In accordance with Vexera, the bot was energetic in over 3 million Discord servers.
Vexera’s announcement reads like a near-perfect echo of the downfall of Groovy, the ultra-popular music bot (energetic in 16 million servers at its top) that was shut down by Google virtually two years in the past. After Groovy’s closure, these 16 million servers scattered to the wind in search of an acceptable alternative. I attempted out a number of candidates in my very own Discord server earlier than selecting Vexera. Oof.
Neither Vexera nor Groovy have shared precisely why YouTube threatened authorized motion, however in 2021 a YouTube spokesperson mentioned Groovy violated its phrases of service by “modifying the service and utilizing it for business functions.” In different phrases, Google is taking situation with music bots bypassing YouTube’s advertisements on high of providing paid premium memberships for additional options that Google, presumably, receives no cash from.
When Groovy shuttered in 2021, customers nervous that it signaled the tip of all music bots on the platform, and as an extension, the tip of the salad days of Discord—hyper-convenient and unmarred by enterprise realities.
Google has not been as ferocious as anticipated in persecuting music bots within the years since. No less than one different standard bot has gotten the boot, however others stay right now.
Some thought that the introduction of Discord’s officially-sanctioned YouTube Watch Collectively app in 2022 (which helps advertisements) can be the ultimate nail within the coffin. It wasn’t, probably as a result of I don’t know a single one that’s ever used it when streaming a browser tab is way simpler. Maybe the remaining music bots are solely nonetheless round as a result of their footprint is just too small for Google to note.
Vexera’s closure is a bitter reminder that considered one of Discord’s greatest perks exists solely on the whim of the mega-corporation that’s permitting it. With Discord itself more and more turning into a much less welcoming place free of charge customers, I’m wondering if one other characteristic that lets customers share paid content material free of charge (Go Dwell streaming) is subsequent on the chopping block.