Meta and UMG Expand Licensing Agreement, Tackle AI-Generated Music

Meta and Universal Music Group (UMG) announced Monday the expansion of their licensing agreement to a new global, multi-year deal. The new agreement includes new monetization opportunities for the music label, artists and songwriters, and also addresses the unauthorized use of AI-generated content. The latter part refers to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate music or songs that mimic an artist or songwriter’s voice or style. The agreement also licenses music for the social media giant’s WhatsApp platform.

AI-generated music that imitates another artist is a major problem in the music industry. In 2023, a song titled “Heart on My Sleeve” was released on multiple streaming platforms. The song’s description claimed it was performed by Drake and The Weeknd, but it was AI-generated. Despite being a deepfake (AI-generated media created in another person’s likeness without permission), the song gained popularity and was even submitted for consideration for a Grammy.

Many such cases have led the music industry to push governments to improve the regulatory framework surrounding AI. Some major labels have also filed lawsuits against AI companies that allegedly train large language models (LLMs) on copyrighted material.

Now, with the expanded licensing agreement, Meta and UMG have committed to working together to tackle unauthorized AI-generated content and protect human artists and songwriters. announcement has not released further details about the steps the companies plan to take to minimize the risk of music deepfakes.

The expanded deal also marks the first time UMG has partnered with Meta to license music for WhatsApp. This could lead to new features for the instant messaging app in the future, allowing users to access and interact with copyrighted songs in different ways. While it’s just speculation at this point, this could also pave the way for Reels to debut on WhatsApp, similar to how it was integrated into Facebook.

In addition to WhatsApp, the deal will also allow all other Meta platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Threads, as well as Horizon, the platform for its mixed-reality headsets, to use UMG-licensed music. Notably, the two companies first signed a deal in 2017, and the current agreement expands the deal in terms of duration and scope.