Has it ever been your dream to stream on Facebook, while simultaneously playing Post Malone’s copyrighted tunes, and earning money from it? Of course not! Now you can – according to Meta’s new rules which were announced yesterday.

Creators, as part of a feature called Music Revenue Sharing, can monetise videos and live streams that include music from popular creators like Post Malone and… Tove Lo? You can find the rest of the “major artists” on Meta’s Licensed Music Library.

Pre-Malone

The change isn’t a bad one. It’s just… on Facebook. If YouTube launched something similar to Music Revenue Sharing, it would be endlessly praised. Except YouTube hasn’t, unfortunately. Facebook has, and it’s hard to know who this is for. Much of Facebook’s demographic isn’t the sort who usually listens to Post Malone, Tove Lo, Grupo La Cumbia, Leah Kate, and Bicep. And these are the artists Meta chose to lead with. But perhaps an older generation will discover a passion for this music. Stranger things have happened.

Creators that use licensed music will earn 20% of the revenue generated from views of the video or stream. The other 80% is split between Meta and the artists concerned. For the artists, it’s essentially free money. Kinda.

There are a few non-extraneous rules to adhere to if you want your 20%. Videos cannot be under a minute long – and the music must not be the focal point of said video. Just follow those rules and you can earn your 20% cut. If you don’t however, there’s a chance Zuckerberg could show up at your door. The chances are low, but never 0%.

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The Licensed Music Library comes soon after Meta failed to renew its licensing deal with Kobalt – a major music publisher. Because of the deal expiring, Instagram and Facebook are set to lose over 700,000 licensed songs. Meta has also been in some hot water recently with Epidemic Sound – a company that licenses background music and sound effects. The company claims Meta was using its licensed music without a license across Facebook. Epidemic Sound sued Meta, with the suit still waiting to be settled.

Perhaps the Licensed Music Library was launched to get back in the music industry’s good books. Meta, by offering up a new revenue stream, is looking to make users happier while avoiding getting into any more trouble.

The ‘feature’ first hits the US. Other countries with music on Facebook will get the feature over the coming months. No exact date was mentioned, so keep your eyes open if you’re not a Yank. Like Zuckerberg on your doorstep, it’ll turn up. Eventually.

Source: The Verge