How Facebook Plans to Break Youtube’s Domination of Video Streaming

According to recent reports, Facebook has concluded a series of negotiations for the right to stream music videos, launching the social network into a medium dominated by YouTube.

On Thursday, Facebook Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg stated that the company is working to expand it’s video featured allowing creators to build a “community” of fans or supporters, not just gather views. It’s “something that is just a lot harder to do on a YouTube or a Twitch or other products like that,” he said.

Music videos are one of the most common formats on Alphabet Inc’s YouTube, and Facebook has long acquired the legal rights to allow its billions of users to access and upload them on their platform. Facebook had previously signed deals with rights holders to use the audio format which is useful when people, upload clips that contain background music but didn’t have permission to show the official videos.

Facebook’s Quest for Video Domination 

Facebook has been searching for more ways of tapping into the promising market of video consumption. Video advertising is often more lucrative than other types of ads, and video-based rival TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., has been gaining users at an exponential rate. In the same vane, music video consumption has leapt on YouTube as a result of the pandemic.

It is also worthy of note that last month, Microsoft Corp. announced it would shutdown Mixer, it’s streaming service for gamers, and moved existing partners onto Facebook’s service instead. This added to Facebook’s momentum towards leveraging video streaming. Let’s a take look at how Facebook plans to take over the music streaming business.

Partnership with Top Music Brands

Facebook’s partnership with three of the largest music companies – Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group is expected to be disclosed soon, said a reliable source who asked not to be identified as the information is private.

READ ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg Loses $7Bn As Top Companies Stop Facebook, Instagram Ads

Funding Music Video Production 

Facebook has said in some cases that it would be able to cover the costs of video production, and that it will distribute the video on its website to boost viewership. Several musicians and music labels have approached by Facebook about obtaining exclusive rights to certain music videos, even if only temporarily.

Bottom Line 

This move can open new revenue streams for Facebook or prove to be overwhelming. It’s however, too early to start making speculations.