Since the revelation that Facebook was cracking down on fake news stories, Facebook has taken another step in combating a specific type of content on its platform: copyright infringing music.
An editorial by NMPA president/CEO David Israelite in October lambasted the social media site for allowing videos with copyrighted music to exist without proper licensing and without paying the music creators. Facebook is now working on a system similar to YouTube’s Content ID system that would identify – and remove – videos and other content that contain copyrighted music.
Israelite wrote in his op-ed that 887 videos were found to be using 33 of today’s top charting songs, which amounted to over 619 million views in total; however the number was probably much greater, due to Facebook privacy settings.
One of the greatest hurdles of the streaming age is how to properly credit and pay royalties to artists for their work, and Facebook has historically been unhelpful in that regard. Now, according to Billboard, talks have even begun between Facebook and the major music labels. A source told the Financial Times that the deal would not be done before spring.
“The reality for Facebook and YouTube is that more and more they are transitioning from tech platforms to media companies,” the source says. “And the more they look like media companies, the more they are going to have to act like them and respect creators and pay for content.”
Source: Billboard