Recent Noteworthy Music Licensing Deals

A music license is required when a copyright owner of music (viz. composer, songwriter, etc.) intends to grant permission to a party to exploit the music. While such music license can cover different aspects of the rights on the music to be licensed separately (viz. public performance, public broadcast, sale/ distribution of music through various channels, etc., one license that has grown significantly is the licensing of music by rights holders to various social media platforms for the use of the music by the users of the social media platform.

Recently, several kinds of music licensing deals were struck by various social media companies to provide in general a wider musical library and options to the users of their respective social media platforms. These kinds of deals are expected to create a collaborative environment, where the music rights holders are suitably compensated for the use of their works, while users of social media platforms get a wider option to express their creativity freely. Here’s a quick look at some of the recent music licensing deals:

• Facebook signs music licensing deal with IPRS: Social media giant Facebook, entered into a music deal with Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS). The IPRS is a representative body of Owners of Music, viz. Composers, Lyricists (or Authors), and the Publishers of Music and are also the sole authorized body to issue Licenses for the usage of Musical Works & Literary Music within Indian. Sometimes statutorily referred to as ‘Copyright Society’. Under the agreement, IPRS will make available for license to Facebook and Instagram the music rights it manages. This would ensure that not only various music right owners get adequate compensation on the copyright they own over their work, but also provide a vast catalog of music for users of Facebook and Instagram to use for their engagements.
• Chingari signs a music licensing deal with T-Series: Indian short video app Chingari has entered into a music deal with T-Series, India’s largest Music Label & Movie Studio. The deal will allow Chinagri and its users to use the music catalog of T Series, which is known to be an excellent collection comprising of all genres across various Indian languages.
• Sharechat/ Moj signs a music licensing deal with T-Series: Similar music licensing deal was stuck with T-Series by Sharechat and its short video platform Moj. ShareChat and Moj combined have over 180 million active users and they will be now able to use the music library of T-Series.
• Josh signs a music licensing deal with Saregama: Another Indian short-video app, Josh has entered into a music licensing deal with Saregama, another large music label in India. Under the deal, Josh and its users will be able to use the entire catalog of Saregama’s music. Saregama is known to have a formidable library of music comprising of over 1.2 lakh (120,000) old and new songs in Indian languages like Hindi, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Kannada Marathi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and many others.
• TikTok signs music licensing deal Universal Music: Popular short video app TikTok owned by ByteDance, China has entered into a global music licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Under the deal, TikTok and its global users will be able to incorporate clips and music from Universal Music’s full catalog of music covers which covers recorded music from artists at UMG’s labels and songwriters with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).
• Audiomack signs a music licensing deal with Universal Music and Sony: Music streaming service provider Audiomack has entered into a music licensing agreement with both Universal Music and Sony Music. Audiomack has a global presence but has become a major player in the African region.