(CelebrityAccess) — Meta and Universal Music Group (UMG) announced an expanded multi-year licensing deal that will create new creative and commercial opportunities for UMG artists on social media platforms that include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Horizon, Threads and, for the first time, WhatsApp.
As part of the expanded partnership, Meta and UMG will continue to work together to address unauthorized AI-generated content on Meta’s social media platforms.
The expanded deal continues an agreement that was first reached in 2017 when UMG became the first of the major label groups to license its recorded music and music publishing catalogs across Facebook’s platforms and making Meta the first major social media company the first to become a fully licensed partner with UMG.
Since establishing the deal, the two companies have worked closely to develop and explore new content delivery channels across the Meta ecosystem, including Facebook, Instagram, and Meta’s virtual reality offerings, including User Generated Content (UGC), live streaming, short-form video content and other Meta products.
“We are thrilled to announce our renewal with Universal Music Group, and Universal Music Publishing Group, both of whom are innovators for music on social media, especially with regard to Meta’s family of apps. This partnership builds on the recognition that music can help connect us and bring fans, artists, and songwriters closer together, not only on established platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, but also in new ways on WhatsApp, and more. We’re extremely grateful to the Universal team, and look forward to growing our partnership in the future,” stated Tamara Hrivnak, VP Music and Content Business Development at Meta.
“Since our landmark 2017 agreement, Meta has consistently demonstrated its commitment to artists and songwriters by helping to amplify the importance music holds across its global network of engaged communities and platforms, creating new opportunities and applications where music amplifies and leads engagement and conversations,” added Michael Nash, Chief Digital Officer & EVP, Universal Music Group. “We are delighted that Meta shares our artist-centric vision for respecting human creativity and compensating artists and songwriters fairly. We look forward to continuing to work together to address unauthorized AI-generated content that could affect artists and songwriters, so that UMG can continue to protect their rights both now and in the future.”
