• by Colin Kirkland , July 25, 2022

On Monday, Meta announced a new way for creators and music rights holders to earn money.

Music Revenue Sharing is a new initiative that will invite creators on Facebook to include licensed music within their videos and earn a share of in-stream ad revenue.

Until now, creators have not been able to profit from licensed music in videos on the platform.

This is how the new feature will work: creators licensing music in their Facebook videos (over 59 seconds) may earn cash on specific videos via in-stream ads.

For a video to be accepted for Music Revenue Sharing compensation, creators must meet Facebook's monetization eligibility standards.

The featured song chosen for a video may also belong to Meta's Licensed Music Library to be eligible for profit -- a list that creators can access through the Creator Studio that includes songs from popular artists such as Post Malone and Tove Lo. 

The video cannot simply be a vessel for a licensed song, but must also rely on visuals.

If the video meets these standards, the creator will receive a notification confirming the video is earning and sharing revenue.

They will receive a 20% revenue share on videos featuring licensed music. Meta and the song's rights holders will receive a separate share, an amount that is currently unspecified.

Although Reels are becoming a central focus of Facebook's new platform redesign, they are not yet eligible for monetization through this new feature.

Music Revenue Sharing is made possible by Rights Manager -- Meta's video, audio and image-matching tool that is aimed at helping content owners protect their rights and manage their content at scale.

Meta says it will work with its music partners to expand the Licensed Music library to include more licensed songs to “evolve the experience.”

The feature will begin rolling out across the globe on Monday, with eligible content monetizing with in-stream ads delivered in the U.S. to start.

Monetization will expand globally in the coming months.