Facebook, Warner Music Group Announce Licensing Deal

Facebook and Warner Music Group, the world’s third-largest music company, announced a “holistic partnership” that includes licensing agreements covering the music company’s recorded music and music publishing catalogs for use in videos and messages.

Terms of the deal were not announced. WMG and Facebook will continue to work together to develop new products that enable users to personalize their music experiences across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and Oculus.

The agreement between the social network and music giant allows for fans to create, upload and share videos with licensed music from Warner artists like Ed Sheeran, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Gorillaz, Neil Young, Cardi B and more.

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The social media giant lined up similar partnerships with Universal Music Group and Sony/ATV Music Publishing — making the vast majority of modern music available to its users.

“We’ve taken our time to arrive at the best possible deal, one that recognises the value that music creates on social networks, while empowering our songwriters to reach audiences around the world, in a way that will spark creativity and conversation among their fans,” Eric Mackay, EVP, Global Digital Strategy, Warner/Chappell said in a statement. “Our incredible catalogue of songs will be represented throughout Facebook’s platforms and we’re excited to work together to create new opportunities for both our songwriters and Facebook’s users.”

Tamara Hrivnak, Head of Music Business Development and Partnerships, Facebook, said: “When Facebook and music come together, we have the power to bring people closer together.”

Here’s the announcement, as posted in a Facebook video.