Facebook has signed a landmark music licensing deal with Universal Music. It’s the first music company to license its material out to Facebook for use across not only the social network, but also to services such as Instagram, Messenger, and Oculus. The move will allow users of the services which Facebook runs to post up content that contains copyrighted content without getting a slap on the wrist.
In a press release, Universal Music said:
“The partnership will facilitate deeper engagement between artists and fans, empowering users to express themselves through music, share the songs they love and build communities around music-fueled culture. Enabling a variety of features across Facebook’s platforms, the agreement is intended to serve as a foundation for a strategic partnership roadmap that will deliver new music-based experiences online.”
Going forward from this deal, the two hope to introduce new music-based products to Facebook’s platforms and see what does and doesn’t work - ultimately the two want to develop the next generation of music products to engage social media users.
Earlier this year, Facebook announced Facebook Watch, a new platform for video content. The newly penned deal with Universal Music will help Facebook avoid copyright issues for content that gets uploaded to Watch. The social media giant has no doubt learned from Google’s experience with YouTube and definitely doesn’t want a repeat of that mess.
Source: Universal Music via Axios, BBC News