Facebook and Universal Music struck up a global deal, and here’s what that means for you
Many of us remember the warning in the description of our favorite fan-made lyric videos: “I do not own the rights to the song in this video.” But on December 21st, Facebook and Universal Music Group (UMG) struck a multi-year a licensing deal, and it could make worries about violating copyright obsolete — in Facebook videos, anyway.
The deal is the first time a music company has agreed to license its music library to social media. Thanks to the deal, users of Facebook, Instagram, and Oculus can upload and share videos that feature licensed music.
Prior to the licensing agreement, Facebook required users to remove videos containing music that violated copyright infringement. But as more and more users began to post music and video, the social network saw a need to solve this problem. While the use of Universal’s music will be initially limited to videos, Facebook is expected to roll it out for a variety of social features, possibly including Messenger.
Michael Nash, executive vice president of digital strategy at UMG said in a statement that the agreement would benefit artists as well as social media users.
"Together, Facebook and UMG are creating a dynamic new model for collaboration between music companies and social platforms to advance the interests of recording artists and songwriters," Nash said.
Facebook and Universal Music Group sign deal to allow users to upload songs in videos https://t.co/9roWakeP63 pic.twitter.com/v2oXF2A8g1
— The Verge (@verge) December 21, 2017
The agreement came just days after the December 19th announcement that YouTube and Universal Music had signed a licensing agreement.
Universal owns and operates a wide variety of music labels. Its music catalog includes work by artists such as Britney Spears, Florence + the Machine, Taylor Swift, U2, and Mumford & Sons.
Get your copy of @taylorswift13’s #reputation on picture disc vinyl today >>> https://t.co/dOhC9S4Phz pic.twitter.com/sM2LT90vo0
— Universal Music Group (@UMG) December 15, 2017
The agreement between Facebook and UMG is revolutionary for music and video lovers everywhere. Social media is always changing, and we’re curious to see what comes next.We can’t wait to use our favorite songs in videos.
