Meta and Universal Music Group (UMG) recently signed an expanded global, multi-year deal, with UMG stating in a press release last week that the new deal will “further evolve the creative and commercial opportunities” for UMG artists and Universal Music Publishing Group songwriters across Meta’s global network of platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Horizon, Threads, and, for the first time, WhatsApp.
The new addition of Meta’s instant messaging service, WhatsApp, means that its users can now also share licensed music from UMG within the app, unlocking “new value for UMG artists and songwriters in the future,” according to UMG’s press release.
As stated in last week’s announcement, UMG’s new agreement with Meta is an expansion of the “strategic framework” established with 2017’s “landmark agreement” with the company then known as Facebook. Under this agreement, UMG officially became the first major music company to license its recorded music and music publishing catalogs across Facebook’s platforms, while UMG stated that Facebook “took a pioneering role as music’s first fully licensed partner among the major social media platforms.”
Universal Music Group is a world leader in music-based entertainment who has remained committed to shaping culture through the power of music and artistry. The company includes a range of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content. Plus, UMG features the most extensive catalog of recordings and songs across every musical genre, producing and distributing the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world (from the likes of Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, Billie Eilish, and more).
Last week’s announcement came just two weeks after UMG specifically referenced Meta in the music company’s calendar Q2 earnings results, which say UMG’s overall revenues are down 9.6% YoY, as well as its ad-funded streaming revenues declining slightly, down 3.9% YoY.
UMG’s CFO, Boyd Muir, explained that part of the reason for the decline was that Meta stopped licensing premium videos for Facebook from the global music leader in May—a decision from Meta that was due to these high-end music videos proving “less popular with Facebook’s user base than other music products” according to Muir.
Muir added on UMG’s Q2 earnings call in July: “Meta is now focusing instead on other areas involving music content, and we are working together to expand these areas as part of a multifaceted renewal.”
While UMG has lost some potential revenue from Meta due to the latter company’s decision to stop licensing premium videos on Facebook, the new agreement appears to have created other revenue opportunities for UMG in the short-form video space (as well as the additional licensing of UMG’s catalog to Whatsapp).
With the multifaceted renewal signed, the two companies made a joint statement in a media release: “The new agreement expands monetization opportunities for UMG, and its artists and songwriters, even further with short-form video, building on Meta and UMG’s joint track record of innovation and collaboration.”
Expressing support for the renewal was Tamara Hrivnak, VP of Music and Content Business Development at Meta, who stated, “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.”
Michael Nash, Chief Digital Officer & EVP of Universal Music Group, said: “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.”
