Meta and Universal Music Group (UMG), a global leader in music-based entertainment, today announced a new multi-year global agreement with Metaopens up new creative and commercial avenues for UMG artists and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) songwriters across all platforms in the vast Meta ecosystem, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Horizon, Threads and, for the first time, WhatsApp..
The two companies intend to protect and enhance human creativity, ensuring fair compensation to artists and authors and managing the
unauthorized Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated content, which could negatively impact creators.
UMG’s strategic partnership with Facebook, the first major music company to license its recorded and publishing music catalogs across all Facebook platforms, began in 2017. Since then, the two companies have continued to collaborate to explore emerging channels and create innovative ways for music to thrive within the Meta ecosystem, including virtual reality experiences, user-generated content, live streaming and other features.
With this new agreement the intention is to further expand monetization opportunities for UMG and its artists and creators, with a particular emphasis on short-form videos and music integration on WhatsAppopening up new value prospects for the future.
Tamara Hrivnak, VP Music and Content Business Development at Meta, commented: “We are thrilled to announce our renewal with Universal Music Group and Universal Music Publishing Group, both innovators in the world of music on social media, especially across the Meta family of apps. This partnership is based on the recognition that music can help us connect and bring fans, artists and songwriters closer together, not only on established platforms like Instagram and Facebook, but also in new ways on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.“.
Michael Nash, Chief Digital Officer & EVP of Universal Music Group, added: “Since our landmark agreement in 2017, Meta has consistently demonstrated its commitment to artists and creators, amplifying the importance of music across all of its platforms. We are delighted that Meta shares our artist-centric vision to respect human creativity and ensure fair compensation. We look forward to continuing to collaborate against unauthorized AI-generated content, protecting artists’ rights today and into the future.“.
