You thought Facebook was done doing deals with music publishers? You were wrong. After getting all major publishers on board, the company is now knocking on the door of independent ones as well.
Since the end of 2017, Facebook has signed music licensing deals with all three major music publishers, beginning with Universal Music Group, then Sony/ATV Publishing, and Warner Music Group more recently. The partnerships, apart from allowing users on Facebook and Facebook-owned properties like Instagram and Oculus to use and freely share music from said companies’ catalogs, are also supposed to bring several advantages for artists as well – increased discoverability and new revenue streams being two important ones.
Now, Facebook has set its eyes on independent labels as well, and has started signing similar deals with them, to “build more ways to bring people together through music in user videos and new social features on Facebook, Instagram, Oculus and Messenger.” Facebook explains that “independent labels have been at the forefront of innovation and have embraced new opportunities” on its platforms – but now it’s time to partner up. As such, Facebook has signed up with Merlin, Beggars Group, [PIAS], and Ingrooves.
Charles Caldas, Merlin CEO, commented that “this exciting new partnership ensures that the world’s leading independents are set to benefit from Facebook’s multi-platform music strategy, both now and into the future.”
Merlin, is the global digital rights agency for the independent label sector, and represents the largest collection of rights outside of the “three major labels” – with access to music from thousands of leading independent record labels across more than 50 countries. The Beggars Group is also one of the world’s largest, fastest growing and most respected label groups, is home to 4AD, Matador Records, Rough Trade, Young Turks and XL Recordings, with artists like FKA Twigs, Queens Of The Stone Age, Radiohead, The National and The xx.
Finally, [PIAS] represents artists such as Agnes Obel, Alt-J, Editors, Faith No More, Father John Misty, Flume, Goldfrapp, John Grant, Matt Simons, Melanie de Biasio, Milky Chance, Oasis, Pixies and Texas, and many more.
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