Facebook Clarifies Livestreaming Music Policy [Update]
Effective October 1, Facebook is taking steps to limit the ability of bands to promote videos that will "create a music listening experience for yourself or for others." This also extends to Facebook Live, which has been an especially popular avenue for livestreamed concerts in the pandemic era.
The language is quite ambiguous as to what constitutes a "listening experience for yourself or for others" in relation to videos, likely encompassing a large swath of music entertainment posts. The rule claims this is done because "we want you to be able to enjoy videos posted by family and friends" as the social media platform places increasing emphasis on these values.
As a result of these new rules in Facebook's Music Guidelines, accounts found in violation of this term of agreement may have their videos blocked and can risk the page, profile or group being deleted entirely. A special note at the end clarified that this rule extends to Facebook Live videos.
The rule reads as follows:
You may not use videos on our Products to create a music listening experience
We want you to be able to enjoy videos posted by family and friends. However, if you use videos on our Products to create a music listening experience for yourself or for others, your videos will be blocked and your page, profile or group may be deleted. This includes Live.
Under this rule change, it would appear that something as innocuous as a band uploading their own music video natively to Facebook would result in a penalty. Facebook also owns Instagram, though no similar rule has been enacted on Instagram at this time.
Update: Facebook have clarified their guidelines for using music in video. Their statement can be read below:
We want to encourage musical expression on our platforms while also ensuring that we uphold our agreements with rights holders. These agreements help protect the artists, songwriters, and partners who are the cornerstone of the music community — and we're grateful for how they've enabled the amazing creativity we've seen in this time.
Our partnerships with rights holders have brought people together around music on our platforms. As part of our licensing agreements, there are limitations around the amount of recorded music that can be included in Live broadcasts or videos. While the specifics of our licensing agreements are confidential, today we’re sharing some general guidelines to help you plan your videos better:
Music in stories and traditional live music performances (e.g., filming an artist or band performing live) are permitted.
The greater the number of full-length recorded tracks in a video, the more likely it may be limited (more below on what we mean by “limited”).
Shorter clips of music are recommended.
There should always be a visual component to your video; recorded audio should not be the primary purpose of the video.
These guidelines are consistent across live and recorded video on both Facebook and Instagram, and for all types of accounts — i.e. pages, profiles, verified and unverified accounts. And although music is launched on our platforms in more than 90 countries, there are places where it is not yet available. So if your video includes recorded music, it may not be available for use in those locations.
For a full list of upcoming livestreamed concerts, check out our Rock + Metal Virtual Performance Streaming Calendar.
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