Meta and Universal Music Group Expand Licensing Agreement, Focus on AI-Generated Music

Meta and Universal Music Group (UMG) announced the expansion of their licensing agreement to a new global multi-year deal on Monday. The new agreement includes new monetisation opportunities for the music label, artists and songwriters as well as focuses on the unauthorised use of AI-generated content. The latter part refers to the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate music or songs which mimic the voice or style of an artist or songwriter. Additionally, the agreement also licenses music for the social media giant’s WhatsApp platform.

AI-generated music that mimics another artist has been a major issue in the music industry. In 2023, a song titled ‘Heart on My Sleeve’ was released on multiple streaming platforms. The song’s description claimed it was performed by Drake and the Weeknd, however, it was AI-generated. Despite being a deepfake (an AI-generated media created in another person’s likeness without consent), the song gained popularity and was even submitted for Grammy consideration.

Many such instances have resulted in the music industry urging governments to improve the regulatory framework around AI. Some major labels have also filed lawsuits against AI firms allegedly training large language models (LLMs) on copyrighted material.

Now, with the expanded licensing agreement, Meta and UMG have committed to working together to address unauthorised AI-generated content to protect human artists and songwriters. The announcement did not reveal further details on the steps the companies plan to take to minimise the risk of music deepfakes.

The expanded deal also marks the first time UMG has partnered with Meta to licence music for WhatsApp. This could lead to new features for the instant messaging app in the future enabling users to access and use copyrighted songs in different ways. While currently just a speculation, this could also pave the way for Reels to debut on WhatsApp, similar to how it was integrated within Facebook.

Apart from WhatsApp, the deal will also allow all other Meta platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Threads as well as Horizon, the platform for its mixed-reality headsets to use UMG-licenced music. Notably, the two companies first signed a deal in 2017, and the current agreement expands the deal both in terms of duration and scope.