Facebook is rolling out official music videos across its platform as well as launching a new music destination on Facebook Watch in India, the United States, and Thailand.
The music destination on Facebook Watch will be available on iOS and Android platforms as of now and will be soon available on desktops.
Users will be able to explore music videos by genre, artist, or mood, as well as access theme-based playlists like “Top Bollywood”, “Top Artists,” among others. They will also be able to access and discover music videos directly on the News Feed or through the Search feature.
Like any video, users can also react to, comment on and share music videos across Facebook’s News Feed, Groups and Messenger.
“Over time, the experience will become more personalized to your tastes based on artists you follow and videos you engage with,” Tamara Hrivnak, vice-president of Music Business Development and Partnerships at Facebook and Vijaye Raji, vice-president of Entertainment at Facebook, said in an official blog post.
In India, the social networking giant has licensing deals with music labels like T-Series Music, Zee Music Company, and Yash Raj Films. While these deals were signed to roll out its music products in the country in September last year, Facebook told ET that it covers music videos as well. Facebook also has similar deals with music label Saregama and artists representative body Indian Performing Rights Society for its music products.
“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. We will continue to find opportunities to add more unique social sharing experiences and bring music into the ways people share and connect on Facebook” said Manish Chopra, Director, and Head of Partnerships, Facebook India.
Apart from music videos, users will also be able to learn more about the artist, follow them on the platform and watch additional content like the story behind their music on the artists and label’s pages, the company said.
With this, Facebook will be taking on players like Google’s YouTube, Times Internet‘s Gaana, Reliance-owned JioSaavn, Xiaomi-backed Hungama who offer music videos on their platforms.
*Disclosure: Times Internet owns ETtech
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