Snapchat has announced a slew of new music licensing deals, which will add more music to the Snapchat Sounds library, and that users can then embed into messages, Snaps and Lenses.
It’s a more internationally-focussed round of licenses too, with “a selection” of local artists’ music from a wide number of locations: UnitedMasters (US), BUMA/STEMRA (Netherlands), SUISA (Switzerland), as well as rightsholders from Latvia, Albania, Armenia, Greece, Pakistan, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Brazil, Italy, and “multiple direct-licensing publishers”.
Snap’s existing licensing include the major labels and publishers, as well as Kobalt, DistroKid, BMG, NMPA publisher members, Merlin, Empire Distribution, and over 9000 independent music publishers and labels. This is further confirmation of how licensed music is now just as much a building block of user-generated content creation (and the consumption of it) as it is for traditional lean-back listening.
It also underlines the importance of user generated content on social media for music discovery, and platforms are keen to help creators use music more easily. Instagram, for instance, has just launched a function that allows creators to see the top trending songs on Reels, and then quickly create their own videos using them.
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