{"id":4502,"date":"2023-04-18T10:20:09","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T07:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/subsign.co\/stories\/?p=4502"},"modified":"2023-06-01T14:20:03","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T11:20:03","slug":"copyrighted-music-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/subsign.co\/stories\/copyrighted-music-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Copyrighted music & social media."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Around this time last year, during a client meeting, a problem was identified. For one of our campaign proposals, the client wanted to use the music of a national artist. That\u2019s it, just use it and \u201cmaybe\u201d tag them in the campaign to see that we gave them the credits for it. But that is not exactly how this works, does it?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judging from the client’s reaction when they heard they needed to pay and get approval to use someone\u2019s work in their advertising efforts, we realized this is very common. The artist isn\u2019t just allowing an entity to use their music \u201cfor exposure\u201d. With this specific situation in mind, we decided to take a deeper look at copyrighted music and its usage on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music industry consists<\/a> of the phonographic industry (production, distribution, publishing), concerts and other live performances, and the publishing industry (managing copyrights).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the rise of social media, especially TikTok and Instagram Reels, copyrighted music has become more and more accessible to users (personal or businesses) to be used for their online presence. Alongside this, a problem arose with businesses and content creators\/influencers using it. How are the artists getting paid for campaigns they didn\u2019t even agree to be on, but their work is used all over social media platforms?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copyright law and music.<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are key things to know about copyright laws and the protection it provides<\/a>. A main idea to keep in mind throughout this read is the fact that copyright protection exists from the moment an original work comes to life in a tangible medium. An example of this case, in particular, is when a song becomes a recorded audio file, a music sheet, or any other type of digital file.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, this protection comes with blurry lines on social media, where people can take someone’s music, slightly twitch it and it becomes a \u201cnew sound\u201d. As newer artists need to license an older song to re-make it, the same reasoning should be applied to social media usage. But this tends to fly under the radar due to the reason of \u201cjust for personal use\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take for example a content creator that posts stories showcasing a brand\u2019s product\/services, but the music choice is a popular song. The content creator makes money off of endorsing the brand, but the artist does not.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is part of a cycle. The platform won\u2019t allow your videos to perform unless you use a trendy sound, so you cannot use free music if you want your videos to perform and have something to show to the brand you are working with.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each platform offers royalty-free audio libraries but \u201cYou probably won\u2019t get the same reach on social media, the same engagement, and it\u2019s not as great from a marketing perspective,\u201d<\/em>  said Robert Freund<\/a>, an attorney specializing in advertising and social media marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One example of this situation is the lawsuit<\/a> between Warner Music and the British makeup brand Iconic. The latter got sued for using unlicensed music in its social media campaign. The brand used copyrighted music in posts created by influencers under the umbrella of a partnership.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another example would be Capital Records vs Vimeo. In this case, Vimeo was found liable for copyright infringement due to allowing users to upload and share copyrighted music without permission.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media platforms and copyrighted music.<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Major social media platforms generally have policies in place regarding copyrighted music. Here is a brief overview of some of these policies:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

YouTube.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

YouTube has a system called Content ID that automatically detects and flags copyrighted music in videos uploaded to the platform. Copyright owners can choose to have their content removed or monetized, and users who repeatedly violate copyright can have their accounts terminated.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The platform has reported that Content ID has paid out over $3 billion in royalties<\/a> to copyright owners since its launch in 2007. The system has also been successful in detecting and removing infringing content from the platform.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook has a similar system called Rights Manager that allows copyright owners to claim and manage their content on the platform. Facebook also has policies in place that prohibit users from uploading copyrighted music without permission and may remove content or disable accounts for repeated violations.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rights Manager has been used by over 40,000 rights holders to manage their content on the platform and has been effective in detecting and removing infringing content.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instagram.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instagram’s policies are similar to Facebook’s, with a system called Rights Manager that allows copyright owners to claim and manage their content on the platform. Instagram also has policies in place that prohibit users from uploading copyrighted music without permission and may remove content or disable accounts for repeated violations.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rights Manager has been used to manage over 6 million pieces of content on the platform and has been effective in detecting and removing infringing content.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TikTok.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

TikTok has a library of licensed music that users can choose from to add to their videos. The platform also has policies in place that prohibit users from uploading copyrighted music without permission and may remove content or disable accounts for repeated violations.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a report by the Recording Industry Association of America, TikTok was responsible for 9.5% of the US music market in 2020, up from just 0.5% in 2019. This indicates the effectiveness of TikTok’s licensed music library in reducing the amount of infringing content on the platform.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twitter.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twitter’s policies prohibit users from uploading copyrighted music without permission and may remove content or disable accounts for repeated violations. Copyright owners can also request that infringing content be removed through Twitter’s DMCA takedown process.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It reported that it received over 11 million takedown requests and removed over 1.1 million tweets for copyright infringement in 2020. This indicates the effectiveness of Twitter’s DMCA takedown process in addressing infringing content on the platform.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s worth noting that these policies can vary by country and may change over time and that social media platforms may face legal challenges related to their handling of copyrighted content.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consequences of using copyrighted music on social media.<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Using copyrighted music on social media without permission can have several consequences, including legal action, takedown requests, and account suspension. Here are some examples:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n