Key Takeaways
- Meta and UMG expanded their global music licensing deal, now including WhatsApp for the first time.
- The companies said they plan to fight unauthorized AI-generated content so artists are fairly compensated.
- Since the Meta-UMG partnership was formed in 2017, it has amplified artists and their music on platforms including virtual reality.
Meta Platforms (META) and Universal Music Group (UMGNF) announced a multi-year deal designed to create business opportunities for artists and songwriters on Facebook, Instagram and other Meta platforms including WhatsApp.
Notably, the expanded partnership between the companies includes fighting the unauthorized use of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content.
“We are delighted that Meta shares our artist-centric vision for respecting human creativity and compensating artists and songwriters fairly,” UMG Chief Digital Officer Michael Nash said. “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.”
Meta and UMG first partnered in 2017, when a landmark agreement made UMG the first major music company to license its music catalog across Meta (then known as Facebook) platforms.
The partnership has seen artists explore “new emergent channels,” including virtual reality environments through Meta Quest devices. Now, for the first time, the expansion of the deal includes music licensing on WhatsApp.