Cindy Charles, Twitch’s Head of Music, Has Died in Amsterdam

Cindy Charles died earlier this week in The Netherlands from injuries she suffered in a traffic accident.

Twitch’s Head of Music and longtime digital music executive, Cindy Charles, died on Monday in The Netherlands after being involved in a traffic accident. She was 69.

The news was confirmed on Tuesday in a Facebook post by her husband, Ricky Fishman. “There will be no filling the hole in the universe left by Cindy’s departure from this world,” he said. She gave love and she received love, building a network of friends unrivaled by any person I have ever known. So many are grieving right now.”

Cindy Charles’ recent success at Twitch was her role in establishing the platform’s new DJ category. Her efforts made it the first platform to allow artists to livestream legally. This included licensing deals with all three major labels – Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment – and indie labels represented by Merlin.

The Queens native was on her way to a speaking engagement at the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) when the accident occurred. On Thursday, October 17, she was meant to speak on a panel at the conference and offer her expertise for DJs using the platform.

“Most of the members of the Twitch community are probably not familiar with Cindy’s work, but she has been leading our team that manages our relationship with the music industry. Cindy has a deep history in the music business, and she has been critical in creating the strong relationships that we have today,” said Twitch CEO Daniel Clancy on LinkedIn. “Anyone that 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 for Twitch, including the recent DJ agreement.”

“Every success, every setback, every moment of working toward our shared mission felt deeply personal, because Cindy made it that way,” said Kira Karlstrom, Twitch’s Head of Music Label Relations, in a post on Medium. “She cared about her team with all her heart, and our work was an extension of that care.”

An accomplished music industry member, Cindy Charles’ legacy preceded her. Over the years, she worked for MediaNet, Viacom, and the interactive divisions of MTV, VH1, and CMT. She also ran her own digital media consulting firm. Cindy Charles was also an advisor to the Board of Governors of the Recording Academy and co-founded Women in Digital Media and the San Francisco chapter of She Is the Music. Prior to becoming the Head of Music at Twitch, she spent three years on the business development side of Amazon Tickets and Amazon’s Video Shorts initiative.

Charles is survived by her husband, Ricky Fishman, her son, Ben Charles, and stepson, Sam Fishman.

We at EDM Identity offer our sincere condolences to Cindy Charles’ friends, colleagues, and loved ones during this difficult time.