Meta has entered into a global, multi-year partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG), significantly expanding their existing collaboration. This agreement is designed to enhance creative and commercial opportunities for UMG artists and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) songwriters across Meta’s suite of platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Horizon, Threads, and, for the first time, WhatsApp.
A key focus of this partnership is to protect human creators and their artistry, ensuring that artists and songwriters receive fair compensation. Meta and UMG will continue to address challenges such as unauthorized AI-generated content and other issues impacting the music industry as part of their broader collaboration.
This new deal builds on the foundation of the original 2017 agreement between Meta and UMG. That earlier agreement was a landmark moment in the relationship between the music industry and social media, as UMG became the first major music company to license its recorded music and publishing catalogues across Facebook’s platforms, establishing Facebook as the first fully licensed social media partner for the music industry.
Since then, Meta’s platforms have become essential spaces for artists and songwriters to engage with their audiences, fostering deeper connections and expanding their reach. Over the years, Meta and UMG have collaborated on innovative ways to integrate licensed music across the Meta ecosystem, including Facebook, Instagram, virtual reality experiences with Meta Quest and Horizon, user-generated content, live streaming, and other Meta products.
The renewed agreement further enhances monetization opportunities for UMG, its artists, and songwriters, particularly through short-form videos. Additionally, Meta and UMG have extended their partnership to include music licensing for WhatsApp, offering new ways for UMG artists and songwriters to benefit from their work.
Tamara Hrivnak, Vice President of Music and Content Business Development, Meta said, “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, particularly within Meta’s family of apps. This partnership underscores the power of music to connect people and bring fans, artists, and songwriters closer together—not only on established platforms like Instagram and Facebook, but also in exciting new ways on WhatsApp and beyond. We’re deeply grateful to the Universal team and look forward to growing our partnership in the future.”
