Twitch Head of Music Cindy Charles Passes Away Following Tragic Accident at Amsterdam Dance Event

Photo Credit: Cindy Charles LinkedIn

Twitch Head of Music Cindy Charles has passed away after injuries sustained during a traffic accident in the Netherlands. She was 69.Her husband Ricky Fishman confirmed the news. Charles was instrumental in helping Twitch build its DJ category, which established the platform as the first place online for DJs to livestream legally. The DJ deal includes licensing deals with all three major labels and independent labels represented by Merlin. Charles was in the Netherlands for a speaking engagement at the Amsterdam Dance Event.

Twitch CEO Daniel Clancy honored Charles’ work with the company saying, “Anyone who uses music on Twitch owes a debt of gratitude to Cindy’s work. She always had a bright smile on her face, even as she negotiated unprecedented music licensing agreements.”

Cindy Charles was also a supportive reader and friend of Digital Music News. We’ll always remember her enthusiastic and boundless energy, which most recently powered transformative changes at Twitch that resulted in meaningful music IP monetization and additional royalties for artists. The music industry has clearly suffered a big loss.

Cindy Charles joined Twitch in 2018 in charge of partnerships and operations principal. She was promoted to Head of Music at Twitch in April 2022, where she took a leading role in music licensing deals with labels and publishers. Before joining Twitch, Charles served as Head of Business Development for Amazon Tickets and the Amazon video shorts initiative.She served as a Senior Vice President and general counsel at MediaNet from 2002-2010 and as a VP of law and business affairs at Viacom from 1995-2002. Charles helped lead the digital legal and business affairs for several divisions within MTV Networks including the interactive divisions of MTV, VH1, and CMT. Charles ran her own digital consulting firm for many years.

Cindy Charles was a native of Queens, New York and attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, majoring in political science. She decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and became an entertainment lawyer after receiving her juris doctor from Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.

Charles served on the Board of Governors of the Recording Academy and is survived by her husband, Ricky Fishman, and her son Ben Charles and stepson Sam Fishman.