Universal Music, Snap Reach Licensing Deal

Snap Inc. has struck a licensing deal with Vivendi SE’s Universal Music Group that gives its users access to thousands of songs, including tracks from Taylor Swift and Drake, in the latest tie-up between social-media giants and record labels, reports Bloomberg.

Snap users will be able to use songs from Universal in messages and posts in the app, the two companies said Thursday. Music fans also can share links to full songs from their streaming service of choice. Financial terms of the partnership, which includes new features that tout Universal artists, weren’t disclosed.

Record labels used to criticize social-media companies for exploiting their music to amass customers without compensating artists. But they’ve since recognized the promotional potential of the services -- and persuaded social-media companies to pay up.

“Fans are able to creatively build close-knit communities around the artists and the music they love, all while ensuring that artists are fairly compensated for the use of their music,” Michael Nash, Universal’s executive vice president of digital strategy, said in a statement.

Universal, the world’s largest music company, has already partnered with Snap to promote releases from some of its biggest acts. Snap’s users have created more than 10 million videos using Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License,” works that have been watched more than 325 million times. Snap also developed custom lenses -- augmented-reality filters within the app -- for Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj and Benee.

But this is the first time Snap users will be able to put Universal’s artists in their posts as part of Snap’s sounds feature. Snap rolled out that feature in October with licenses from Warner Music Group Corp., as well as the music-publishing arms of Universal and Sony Group Corp. While the publishing deals gave Snap access to song rights, it didn’t cover music performed by artists signed to Universal’s labels.

The app’s users have posted 521 million videos involving music since October, and those clips have been viewed 31 billion times. Almost half of them have been sent via direct message, underscoring Snap’s role as a messaging service.

While YouTube is the most popular site for music videos, and TikTok is where many new songs now go viral, Snap is eager to position its app as a key place for musicians and record labels to market their work. Snapchat reaches 90 per cent of Americans between the ages 13 and 24.