Many in the music industry were confused over last week’s reports of a change to Facebook‘s music guidelines. Selector reported that the guidelines did not actually change, confirming that an archived version of the terms from 2018 was the same as what’s listed on the site today.
On Monday, Dummy Mag published a report with a statement from a Facebook spokesperson confirming that the rules have not changed. Important details in the guidelines were explained further, however – specifically what a “listening experience” entails.
In the spokesperson’s own words:
“As part of our licensing agreements, there are limitations around the amount of recorded music that can be included in Live broadcasts or videos. While the specifics of our licensing agreements are confidential, today we’re sharing some general guidelines to help you plan your videos better.
The greater the number of full-length recorded tracks in a video, the more likely it may be limited. Shorter clips of music are recommended. There should always be a visual component to your video; recorded audio should not be the primary purpose of the video.
These guidelines are consistent across live and recorded video on both Facebook and Instagram, and for all types of accounts — i.e. pages, profiles, verified and unverified accounts.”
The clarified statement has some in the industry worried as the social media site urges users against the use of full-length songs in their videos or live streams. This could impact many of the now-popular online festivals and virtual DJ sets that have become increasingly frequent due to the worldwide live music shutdown. While the new statement does clarify some of the guidelines, it also raises questions as to what they consider a “shorter” clip and what is deemed an acceptable visual component.
You can view Facebook’s entire list of Music Guidelines on the dedicated page they’ve set up for them here.
