Meta renews licensing deal with Merlin for independent music across Instagram, Facebook and Messenger

Facebook parent company Meta has renewed its “strategic partnership” with Merlin, the digital music licensing representative for independent music companies.

The licensing agreement covers Meta properties, including Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.

Merlin’s membership includes prominent independent companies such as Because Music, Downtown Music, Mushroom Music, Reservoir Media and more. It claims to represent 15% of the recorded music market.

In addition to Meta, Merlin notes that it has also previously negotiated “premium deals” with Apple, Canva, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and 40 other platforms globally.

Facebook previously announced a multi-territory licensing deal with Merlin in 2018.

According to the announcement, Merlin’s members and their artists “have seen significant engagement with Meta’s Reels feature on Instagram and Facebook”.

Meta and Merlin also said that they will “explore new opportunities to drive the value of independent music on Meta’s platforms”.

According to the announcement, the renewal will also make available a new suite of tools and features that “enable fans to discover artists and boost the visibility of new releases”.

Tamara Hrivnak, Vice President, Music & Content Business Development at Meta, said: “Meta is thrilled to renew our partnership with Merlin, one of the leading champions of independent music.”

“META IS THRILLED TO RENEW OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH MERLIN, ONE OF THE LEADING CHAMPIONS OF INDEPENDENT MUSIC.”

TAMARA HRIVNAK, META

Added Hrivnak: “I’m extremely grateful to both the Merlin deal team, and to Meta’s BD & legal leads Summer Kim, Alex Bae, Tali Fireaizen, and Didac Renau-Faura for their commitment to and support of the independent music community.

“Our continued collaboration will foster further innovation in music discovery and creative expression. We’re excited for what the future holds.”

“THIS RENEWAL IS ABOUT MORE THAN SIMPLY LICENSING MUSIC – IT’S ABOUT THE STRENGTH OF BUILDING LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS, SEEKING INNOVATIVE WAYS TO DELIVER MUSIC TO FANS AND THOSE DISCOVERING OUR ARTISTS FOR THE FIRST TIME.”

JEREMY SIROTA, MERLIN

Jeremy Sirota, CEO of Merlin, added: “We are incredibly proud of the hard work the Merlin team and our members have put into being a key partner to Meta.

“I’m particularly grateful to our deal team led by our COO, Charlie Lexton and Senior Director, Business and Legal Affairs, Shrina Patel for their work on this partnership.

“This renewal is about more than simply licensing music – it’s about the strength of building long term relationships, seeking innovative ways to deliver music to fans and those discovering our artists for the first time, and the value of the dynamic nature of independent music. Merlin, on behalf of its members and their artists, is leading the way to build an ethical, sustainable, and indie-centric world.”

Elsewhere at Meta, Warner Music Group inked a licensing deal with the company in 2022. The agreement enabled WMG and its artists to receive a portion of revenue from the use of licensed music on Facebook creators’ posts.

The deal arrived nearly two weeks after Universal Music Group revealed that it had formed a similar partnership with the Facebook owner.

UMG’s deal with Meta was struck in calendar Q2; Warner’s quickly followed in early Q3.

Meta announced in July 2022 that it will start directly sharing a proportion of advertising revenue with music rights holders for certain user-generated video content on Facebook that is 60 seconds or longer.Music Business Worldwide