Facebook signs multi-year music deal with Universal

San Francisco, Dec 22 (IANS) Taking on music streaming giants like Google-owned YouTube, Facebook and Universal Music Group (UMG) have announced a global, multi-year agreement reportedly worth several hundred million dollars.

As part of the deal, UMG will become the first major music company to license its recorded music and publishing catalogues for video and other social experiences across Facebook and its products like Instagram, Messenger and Virtual Reality (VR) platform Oculus.

The users will be able to upload videos that contain licensed music and personalise their music experiences on Facebook, Instagram and Oculus, while sharing videos with friends and family.

"There is a magnetic relationship between music and community building. We are excited to bring that to life on Facebook, Instagram, Oculus and Messenger in partnership with UMG," Tamara Hrivnak, Head of Music Business Development and Partnerships, Facebook, said in a statement on Friday.

The partnership will facilitate deeper engagement between artists and fans, empowering users to express themselves through music, share the songs they love and build communities around music-fuelled culture.

"Together, Facebook and UMG are creating a dynamic new model for collaboration between music companies and social platforms to advance the interests of recording artists and songwriters," added Michael Nash, Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy, Universal Music Group.

The companies will experiment hand-in-hand to introduce new music-based products to Facebook platforms, including Messenger.

"Music lovers, artists and writers will all be right at home as we open up creativity, connection and innovation through music and video," Hrivnak said.