Snap has struck a licensing deal with Sony Music Entertainment — which means the music of all three major labels/ publishers and many indies is now available on the platform (which prefers to be called a camera company, not a social media network). Those partners include Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell, Kobalt, BMG and many others.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Snap also announced that it is adding its popular Sounds on Snap, which lets users add song clips to Snaps and Stories, into its AR Lenses. In the coming weeks, Sound Lenses will be available with a pre-selected song embedded into the Lens, a Lens that transforms pictures of anyone to appear as if they are singing a song, and Cameo Sound Lenses that apply visual effects to put users and a friend into animated music videos. Sony Music has leveraged Snap’s AR capabilities to share new music, including Kygo’s Whitney Houston remix, Calvin Harris and Rag’n’Bone Man’s “Giant” and G-Eazy and Halsey’s “Him and I.”
Dennis Kooker, Sony Music’s president of global digital business, said: “We are pleased to be expanding our relationship with Snap to develop new commercial opportunities for our artists around short form video and augmented reality experiences. Through this agreement, our artists have more ways to connect with fans and enhance engagement in their music by enabling their songs to be part of the Lens and Sounds tools that support communication and creative expression among Snapchat’s users.”
Ben Schwerin, Snap’s senior VP of content and partnerships, said: “Our new deal with Sony Music marks a major milestone as Snap now has partnerships with all the major labels, in addition to networks of independent labels and emerging artists,” said “We’re excited to further integrate Sounds into our AR Lenses to provide artists a proven and powerful way to share their music, and create immersive new experiences for our community.”
