Written by: Beka Bishop Facebook announced that starting October 1, 2020, consumers “may not use videos on our Products to create a music listening experience.” This means videos, including Live recordings, can be removed or blocked by Facebook or the copyright owner of the song(s) being played. This of course has always been implied, but Facebook is officially implementing it. This is because using a song that you do not own in a video is a violation of a copyright. Live stream videos and videos with music in the background or as its focus (including concerts, karaoke, cover songs) are all illegal unless the copyright holder is the one doing the live stream.
There has been a lot of controversies, fake news, and misunderstandings with this change, but there also has been a lot of light shining on the new changes. In fact, this might be one step in the right direction for copyright law.
Artists have potentially lost out on a lot of money from live streams with copyright infringement, especially if Facebook consumers are covering the songs without a mechanical, master, and/ or public performance license. While Facebook did take a drastic first step of repercussions for breaking the law, it is necessary for the music industry to evolve and continue. Facebook is only removing or blocking videos that violate copyright law, which is much cheaper than alternative consequences. This change could help enforce that the copyright holders of the song are deservingly and lawfully paid correctly for their intellectual property.
If you’re an artist, before you freak out, there are a lot of other resources you can use to continue doing virtual concerts. Websites like, Patreon, are great resources for artists. Patreon allows for artists to monetize off of their performances, something that was hard to do with Facebook and Instagram Live. There are many other features artists can use on Patreon! Other websites that are useful to live stream concerts and performances include YouTube, Twitch, and Stage It.
What are your thoughts on Facebook's new Copyright policies? If you are an artist, will you be live streaming less now on Facebook? Let us know what you think on our Social Media!
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