Earlier today, Facebook dropped a pretty significant bombshell in the streaming world. The social media giant announced a deal that would allow streamers on their platform to play copyrighted music, without the threat of a DMCA take down on their content. After a viral ToS update that threatens musicians, Facebook’s absorption of Mixer as a large bid to occupy the streaming space, and the DMCA clips nightmare in June on Twitch — this could be the move that puts Facebook in the running as a real competitor to Twitch.
What music can streamers use?
The program will be rolled out to partnered Facebook streamers first, and will then look to make the service available for all content creators in the long run. Their FAQ states that they have negotiated deals with “Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Kobalt Music Group, BMG publishing, Merlin and many partners” with licensing available in more than 90 countries. UMG represents artists such as Taylor Swift, Kanye, Lady Gaga, Metallica, and Lana Del Ray. Warner could be offering licensing on Linkin Park, Madonna, Ed Sheeran, and G-Dragon while Sony’s catalog includes works from Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, and Pink Floyd. Facebook hasn’t released details on which artists will be available for streaming, but their statement promises “Restricted tracks are rare” — implying that the majority of the artists’ works will be available.
Streamers will continue to use their own playlists, and Facebook will inform them if any of their music does not fall within the licensing rights they have obtained. From the sound of it, streamers will have to function by trial and error to build their playlists, rather than a built in Facebook music streaming catalog. You can read the full FAQ here for more details.
Will winning the DMCA race put Facebook on top?
This is a big win for Facebook Gaming, who until now has been the younger kid who can’t keep up with their older sibling Twitch. Facebook has succeeded in Latin American and South East Asian markets, but they have struggled to compete in North America and Europe. Their recent acquisition of Mixer brought in an influx of Western content creators, but failed to entice the two biggest creators to make the jump. Shroud and Ninja both landed back on Twitch, unwilling to take a risk with Facebook.
Twitch is as Shroud said in his tweet — home, for many gamers. The big streamers almost all got their start there, esports are almost exclusively featured on Twitch, and other industries, like Burberry’s Fashion Show, are turning to Twitch as their platform of choice during this pandemic. Twitch has held strong against all challengers up until now, but their response to the DMCA scare was lackluster, and the ‘features’ they have lately announced are not ones people are pleased with.
Twitch is a habit, but habits can be broken. Unsolicited ads that takes the control away from the streamer will alienate both content creators and their viewers. With the announced perk of DMCA free streams that allow everyone to listen to popular music without fear, this Fall could belong to Facebook, with Twitch left scrambling to catch up. Your move Twitch.
