The Queens, New York, native played a pivotal role in music licensing with labels and publishers, and championed music programming and artist relations on the platform.

Cindy Charles, Twitch's Head of Music who led on the recent launch of the platform's dedicated DJ channel, has died, aged 69, after being involved in a traffic accident in the Netherlands.

Twitch CEO Daniel Clancy confirmed the news of Charles' passing Friday (18th Oct October) on LinkedIn. Clancy remarked that "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."

Per NL Times, Clancy, who had been due to speak at ADE on Thursday 17th October, was hit by a garbage truck while walking on the Passeerdersgracht in the centre of the Dutch capital on Monday, 14th. A spokesperson for ADE said: "Our thoughts are with her loved ones during this difficult time. She will be greatly missed by her family, friends, colleagues and the global music industry."

The Queens, New York, native played a pivotal role in music licensing with labels and publishers, and championed music programming and artist relations on the platform. In June this year, it was announced that Twitch had signed a new deal with major and independent labels to allow DJs to stream on the platform without takedowns. In August, it launched its dedicated DJing channel.

The landmark deal was a response to the growing number of DJs using the platform to livestream their sets. The agreement involved Twitch signing licensing deals with the three majors -- Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment -- and a raft of indie labels.

Charles' extensive CV also included stints at MediaNet (formerly MusicNet), ViaCom, and MTV Networks.

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