Snapchat Adds Music – It’s A Big Deal, But Will Artists And Songwriters Get Paid?
Snapchat has been very public about its music ambitions, including rumored talks to start a label or to buy Taylor' Swift's Big Machine records in tandem with Apple. Today those tune-driven dreams took a concrete step forward with the addition of music to the ultra-popular messaging app. Beware the coming lip sync apocalypse.
Spotify, iTunes, SoundCloud and other music services can now provide a soundtrack to Snapchat messages,
When your startup is valued at north of $19 billion, you better be thinking big. And while today's announcement feels like a baby step, it hints at much broader music plans.
Madonna recently debuted her new music video on Snapchat. Warner Music Group signed on early to help launch the app's Discover "news" section. Up and coming musicians Vance Joy, Goldroom, Smallpools and Guards have all been featured on the app, some with links to monetize tracks on iTunes.
To start, we'll likely see a flood of lip sync videos and content from the apps 100 million+ active users along with the Vine and YouTube stars who are increasingly migrating to Snapchat. The new music feature also works in Snapchat stories which allow users to weave together a longer narrative. So, the possibilities are near endless.
Will the original artists and songwriters get paid?
It's doubtful that anyone thought of this use when they signed their original deal with Spotify or iTunes. Is a 10 second snap a song use, a sample or what?
Music has come to Snapchat, but what it means for music marketing and monetization remains to be seen.
