Facebook lands first-ever music licensing deal with Universal Music

Facebook and Universal Music have struck a multi-year licensing deal to let users across all Facebook media properties use recorded music and publishing catalogs for video across Facebook.

Why it matters: It's the first major music company to license its recorded music and publishing catalogs for video and other social experiences across Facebook, Instagram and Oculus. Until now, users couldn't upload videos with non-licensed music in them, making it harder for users to post their content and providing less exposure for artists whose songs are commonly used in user-generated videos.