Universal Music Group just became the first major music label to license its recorded music and videos on Facebook.
The global, multiyear deal will enable users of Facebook, as well as its Instagram app and Oculus virtual reality platform, to upload videos that contain licensed music. They’ll also be able to personalize their music experiences while sharing videos.
The move helps to alleviate annoyances for Facebook users who post music to which the site doesn’t have the rights. In those cases, under current law, rights holders such as UMG must ask Facebook to take down videos with infringing material.
In the fall, Facebook had been rumored to be offering major record labels big bucks — hundreds of millions — so users could legally upload videos.
UMG CEO Lucian Grainge told staffers in a Thursday memo that the company is “developing new and increasingly progressive business models” and “ spurring competition among both established tech players and startups alike.”
This year, UMG inked a similar deal with Spotify, and earlier this week, extended its licensing deal with YouTube to give UMG greater control over its music, as well as compensation for its artists.
Warner Music and Sony also extended deals with YouTube, and according to insiders, they will likely sign deals with Facebook following Thursday’s UMG news.
“There is a magnetic relationship between music and community-building,” said Tamara Hrivnak, Facebook’s head of music business development and partnerships.
The deal comes as the world’s largest social media site is making a big push into video to keep users on its site and attract advertisers.
Earlier this year, Facebook launched its Watch video service, which features shows from the likes of BuzzFeed and Discovery Communications as well as sports like Major League Baseball.
The licensing deal could help Facebook better compete with Alphabet’s YouTube — since music videos are the most popular category on the site, said Brian Wieser, a senior analyst at Pivotal Research.
“With this deal, Facebook has licensed content from the biggest player in the biggest genre of video on YouTube,” Wieser said.
With Post wires