Universal Music Group and Meta to tackle unauthorised AI-generated content and more in new “expanded global agreement”Universal Music Group (UMG) and Meta have announced an “expanded global, multi-year agreement that will further evolve the creative and commercial opportunities” for UMG artists and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) songwriters across Meta’s platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Horizon, Threads and WhatsApp.

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While the specific terms of the deal were not disclosed, both companies have emphasised their “shared commitment to protecting human creators and artistry, including ensuring that artists and songwriters are compensated fairly.”
A key focus of the new agreement is on tackling “unauthorised AI-generated content that could affect artists and songwriters.” AI laws governing intellectual property have long struggled to keep up with the technology’s development, with creators becoming increasingly concerned about their work being used by AI companies to train models without proper compensation.
According to officials, the partnership also “expands monetization opportunities” for UMG and its artists and songwriters, including short form video.
Michael Nash, Chief Digital Officer & EVP of UMG said, “We are delighted that Meta shares our artist-centric vision for respecting human creativity and compensating artists and songwriters fairly. We look forward to continuing to work together to address unauthorised AI-generated content that could affect artists and songwriters, so that UMG can continue to protect their rights both now and in the future.”
The move also follows UMG’s recent feud with TikTok, which saw the music giant pull its entire song catalogue from the short-form video app.
In a fiery open letter penned by UMG back in January titled ‘Why we must call time out on TikTok’, the firm accused TikTok of trying to “bully” it into “accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of [its] exponential growth”.
Both sides eventually reached a settlement in May, putting an end to the months-long dispute with music from artists like Taylor Swift returning to TikTok’s libraries.
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