Facebook is offering major record labels and music publishers hundreds of millions of dollars so the users of its social network can legally include songs in videos they upload, according to people familiar with the matter says Bloomberg.
Facebook video & live streaming have blown up over the last few years and in most videos, people like to stream music. Under current law, it is “illegal” for users to post these videos with any type of music that they do not have the license to use.
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Music owners have been negotiating with Facebook for months in search of a solution, and Facebook has promised to build a system to identify and tag music that infringes copyrights, however this system is supposed to take up to 2 years to develop.
Facebook is eager to make a deal now so that it no longer frustrates users, by taking down their videos; partners, by hosting infringing material; or advertisers, with the prospect of legal headaches. If this deal does go through this could be a major blow to YouTube and a major convenience to anyone who uploads videos to Facebook.
h/t: Bloomberg.com – Lucas Shaw & Sarah Frier