Facebook in licensing deal with Universal Music
Social media company Facebook has agreed a multi-year licensing deal with music corporation Universal Music.
Announced yesterday, December 21, the agreement will allow Facebook users to upload videos containing licensed music from Universal’s library onto Facebook, Instagram and Oculus.
The deal, which is Facebook’s first with a major music company, means that Facebook won’t have to require users to take down videos featuring Universal’s music due to copyright infringement.
Tamara Hrivnak, head of music business development and partnerships at Facebook, said, “There is a magnetic relationship between music and community building. We are excited to bring that to life on Facebook, Instagram, Oculus and Messenger in partnership with Universal.”
According to Michael Nash, executive vice president of digital strategy at Universal, the partnership is an important first step “demonstrating that innovation and fair compensation for music creators are mutually reinforcing”.
Earlier this week, WIPR reported that Facebook removed nearly 3 million posts in the first half of 2017 following IP infringement complaints.
During that period, Facebook removed 1,818,794 posts due to copyright infringement from the site, and 685,996 posts from Instagram because of copyright infringement.
On Tuesday, December 19, Bloomberg reported that YouTube had signed a long-term agreement with Universal and Sony Music Entertainment, promising stronger policing of uploads of copyrighted songs.
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