Beware – (Updated) starting Oct 1st, 2020 – Facebook adds new restrictions on music live streaming!

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The social network Facebook will be adding new restrictions and on music live streams starting on October 1st, 2020.

As a direct consequence, artists will be forced to look for other streaming alternatives, as Facebook will not allow any lives stream unless ‘there is no music’, which in this case, does not make any sense for artists.

These new restrictions do not come as a surprise. With the pandemic hitting the live music scene since the beginning of the year, music artists found live streams a great alternative to music shows and the perfect way to promote their music; with Facebook and YouTube being the preferred streaming tools. However, problems arising from music licenses and permissions to play certain tracks have resulted in these new restrictions. One of the newest guidelines by Facebook reads:

Editors note: (click the quoted updated text to the right to go directly to the source) – FaceBook says: ‘You may not use videos on our products to create a music listening experience … If you use videos on our products to create a music listening experience for yourself or for others, your videos will be blocked and your page, profile or group may be deleted. This includes Live.’

Although YouTube remains the number one platform, these new Facebook restrictions on live streams are terrible news, especially for new and up and coming artists looking to make a name for themselves in the music scene.

There actually are other good alternative streaming platforms out there, but these have much less visibility. YouTube aside, Twitch and Mixcloud Live (paid subscription) might be good alternatives, nevertheless, the clear con is that neither of them has the power and reach that Facebook has.

Updated statement from Facebook – NOW, Facebook have clarified its previous ambiguous press-release with the text below: (note: the Facebook legal page text remains unchanged!)

We want to encourage musical expression on our platforms while also ensuring that we uphold our agreements with rights holders. These agreements help protect the artists, songwriters, and partners who are the cornerstone of the music community — and we’re grateful for how they’ve enabled the amazing creativity we’ve seen in this time.
Our partnerships with rights holders have brought people together around music on our platforms. 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:

Music in stories and traditional live music performances (e.g., filming an artist or band performing live) are permitted.

The greater the number of full-length recorded tracks in a video, the more likely it may be limited (more below on what we mean by “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. And although music is launched on our platforms in more than 90 countries, there are places where it is not yet available. So if your video includes recorded music, it may not be available for use in those locations.”

Read More: Facebook Clarifies Livestreaming Music Policy [Update] 

Source: Loudwire

Photo credits: Photo by jens holm on Unsplash – Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

Last modified: September 16, 2020