Meta and Universal Music Group (UMG) have broadened their ongoing music licensing deal, announced on Monday.
This agreement allows users to share UMG’s extensive music catalog across Meta’s platforms—such as Facebook, Instagram, Horizon, Threads, and WhatsApp—while ensuring that copyright laws are respected.
A significant aspect of this renewed agreement focuses on addressing the issue of “unauthorized AI-generated content.”
This concern stems from instances where AI systems have utilized artists’ work without their permission, leading to the creation of fake content or using these works for AI model training without proper consent.
This has become an increasing challenge for artists and songwriters.
The partnership comes in the wake of a dispute between UMG and TikTok earlier this year, where UMG’s music was briefly removed from the platform.
The disagreement, rooted in concerns about AI and online safety, was resolved in May, allowing UMG’s artists to return to TikTok.
This deal also follows legal action taken by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing UMG and other major labels, against startups Udio and Suno.
These companies have been accused of using copyrighted music to train their AI models. Despite Suno’s admission of using such music, they argue it falls under fair use.
Meta is positioning itself as a responsible player in the AI music space by launching AI models like AudioCraft, MusicGen, and Jasco, which are claimed to be trained exclusively on Meta-owned or licensed music.
However, the potential for these models to be misused, such as in creating deepfake audio, has been acknowledged.
For the first time, WhatsApp users can now share UMG-licensed music directly within the app. The inclusion of Threads, Meta’s social network that competes with X (formerly Twitter), in this agreement, marks another milestone in their collaboration.
Meta and UMG’s relationship began in 2017, marking a significant moment when a major music label first allowed Facebook users to incorporate its songs in videos shared on the platform.
