Snap Inc has signed licensing deals to launch a new music video feature.
In the coming months, users will be able to add music to Snaps from a curated catalogue of music. The service will be trialled in New Zealand and Australia ahead of a global launch.
The announcement follows the launch of licensed music videos on Facebook.
A Snap spokesperson said: “We’re constantly building on our relationships within the music industry, and making sure the entire music ecosystem (artists, labels, songwriters, publishers and streaming services) are seeing value in our partnerships.”
When someone is sent a Snap with music, they can swipe up to view the album art, song title and name of the artist. A Play This Song link will open a webview to Linkfire to enable users to listen to the track on their favorite streaming platform (including Spotify, Apple Music, and SoundCloud).
In the US, UK, France, Canada, and Australia, Snapchat reaches more 13-24 year-olds than either Facebook or Instagram, according to the company. Based on publicly available data, Snapchat reaches more people in the US than Twitter and TikTok combined.
“We're excited to be the first major partnering with Snap on this new feature,” said Oana Ruxandra, chief digital officer and EVP, business development, Warner Music Group. “Both Warner Music and Snap have long track records of embracing innovation and experimentation, and working closely together, our goal is to enable cutting edge social tools to bring our artists' music to Snap's highly engaged user base.”
Other majors have yet confirm licensing deals with Snap.
“We are pleased to partner with Snap to ensure great music can be used on its new service,” said NMPA president & CEO David Israelite. “Our agreement will bring an important new revenue stream to publishers and songwriters and improve the overall quality of the app for users. Snap is doing it the right way - licensing the music it needs before launching to the public.”
“Merlin is excited to partner with Snap given the unique role they can play in the evolution of social music,” said Merlin CEO Jeremy Sirota. “Merlin’s members have always been early adopters of innovation in the ever-changing digital ecosystem. We look forward to a productive relationship that offers users new ways to express themselves, enables artists to build new audiences, and provides value to our members.”
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