Sing Along With Facebook: Official Music Videos to Debut in the U.S. Aug. 1

Official music videos are coming for Facebook users in the U.S. starting Aug. 1. The social network said in a Newsroom post that beginning this weekend, users will be able to discover, watch and share videos from artists across eras and genres, including Anitta, Miley Cyrus, Diplo, Josh Groban, Elton John, the Jonas Brothers, Bob Marley, Nicki Minaj, Maren Morris, Blake Shelton and Keith Urban. The coming weeks will feature exclusive music video content from Alejandro Fernandez, Calibre 50, J Balvin, Karol G and Sebastián Yatra, as well as exclusive premieres from Lele Pons and Sech. Administrators of pages linked to musical artists in the U.S. began receiving notifications earlier this month that they were required to activate a new setting prior to Aug. 1 for officially licensed music videos to be added to those pages.. Sarah Perez of TechCrunch reviewed materials that were sent to admins, reporting that they would not be tasked with manually uploading videos or providing links, and that activating the new setting gives Facebook permission to add videos to their pages, which can be discovered via the videos tab. Facebook said in its Newsroom post that it had been working with partners in India and Thailand to build the foundation of a music video experience, and its partners in the U.S. include BMG, Kobalt, Merlin, Sony Music, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and others in the independent music community, publishers and societies. Just like any other videos on the social network, official music videos can be shared across News Feed, groups and Messenger From Facebook, as well as reacted to and commented on. Video destination Facebook Watch added a dedicated Music area Friday on desktop, Android and iOS, where users can explore videos by artist, genre or mood and access themed playlists such as Epic Dance Videos, Hip-Hop MVPs, New This Week, Popular This Week and Trailblazers of Pop. The social network said this experience will become more personalized over time based on artists that people follow and videos they engage with. On the talent side, Facebook wrote in its Newsroom post, “Artists already use our applications to get closer to fans through sharing everyday moments on Stories, promoting new releases with custom augmented reality effects and music stickers, hosting Q&As on Facebook Live and raising money for important causes through the donate button in Live and Stories. Now, artists will have the opportunity to connect authentically with fans around their official music videos on Facebook, too.” Fans can follow artists directly through music videos, clicking through to access their pages. Those pages have also been revamped to make it easier for fans to find artists’ official music videos. Facebook said more music videos and more related features will be added in the coming weeks. Vice president of entertainment Vijaye Raji said in the Newsroom post, “Official music videos on Facebook are about more than just watching a video. They’re about social experiences, from discovering new artists with friends to connecting more deeply with artists and people you love. There’s something in our music video catalog for everyone, and we’re excited for people to discover and rediscover their favorites.” VP of music business development and partnerships Tamara Hrivnak added, “Artist/fan connection on Facebook is deeper and more authentic because of tools like Stories, Live and custom AR effects. Official music videos are re-born in that setting–they become part of the way people express identity and mood and bring a new dimension to the artist storytelling that happens on our apps every day.”