Facebook Introduces Music Videos On Watch To Boost Social Sharing Experiences In India

Social media giant Facebook has now introduced official music videos on the platform under Facebook Watch to let users view music videos. The company says that users can now discover, enjoy and interact with top-charting tracks to old catalogue favourites across various music genres on Facebook.

The feature is available in India, Thailand and the United States and videos will be available from companies like T-Series Music, Zee Music Company and Yash Raj Films. It also includes music videos from global artists like Elton John, Jonas Brothers, Josh Groban, Keith Urban and more. The company already had licensing deals with music companies and is taking advantage of the same.

The company has tie-ups with Sony Music, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, BMG and more in the US, which will expand its library of songs and videos.

Manish Chopra, Director, and Head of Partnerships, Facebook India, said, “Over the past year, we have been working with partners in the Indian music industry to build the foundation of a music video experience for our consumers, and are thrilled to launch official music videos on the platform.”

The platform will include thematic playlists, just like music streaming applications, and locations for top artists and more. The music videos will also show up in people’s news feed. Users will be able to follow artists directly from the music videos page, instead of having to go to their dedicated music pages. The videos can be shared on Facebook Groups and Messenger as well.

This can be seen as part of Facebook’s efforts to grow the Watch platform in the country. The music licenses also help the company build its TikTok-like product Reels within Instagram.

In India, the online music streaming space is dominated by Gaana which has around over 150 Mn users. Other music streaming players include Spotify, Amazon Music, Hungama, JioSaavn and Wynk. Gaana is said to have a 30% market share and is followed by JioSaavan (24%) and Wynk (15%).  

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.