When you buy through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn 
Meta and Universal’s expanded partnership includes licensing music for WhatsApp and enhancing monetization opportunities across Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Meta has agreed to an extended licensing deal with Universal Music Group that will enable more of the record label’s content to be used across its stable of social media apps.
The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads initially partnered with Universal in 2017. The renewed “global, multi-year agreement” will aim to deliver further creative and commercial opportunities for both parties, including added monetization.
A press release on August 12 detailed the fresh terms agreed by the companies, which will introduce video-based content on WhatsApp and Threads for the first time.
Both entities have committed to targeting AI-generated, unauthorized content that harms the IP of the respective artists and songwriters.
Universal Refers to Meta in Its Quarterly Results
The agreement between Meta and Universal is a mutually beneficial accord but one that TikTok has struggled to replicate and smooth over. The Chinese-owned video hosting app eventually secured terms with UMG in May, ending a months-long dispute.
Earlier this year, in February, the ByteDance company removed content from the app, which contained not only Universal-owned music but also content from artists who had other agreements with Universal.
The news of the new deal between Meta and Universal arrived two weeks after the latter mentioned the former in its Q2 earnings results, covering the three months up to the end of June.
UMG’s quarterly revenues were up 9.6% year-on-year, but it registered a 3.9% drop in ad-funded streaming revenue over the same timeframe. Meta’s call to stop licensing premium videos from Universal for Facebook was noted as a contributor to the slump, and the new direction for music-led content will be considered as part of the extended agreement.
