Buzz about livestream services being potentially cut for musicians went buried in headlines but it appears that since September 11, the social media platform may quietly have been planning to yank out musicians’ ability to perform live via their platform.
The Facebook new terms of service for Livestream which go into effect 10.01.20 appear to specifically target those who have been profiting off of streams via their platform for “commercial purposes.” (See note: “Use of music for commercial or non-personal purposes in particular is prohibited unless you have obtained appropriate licenses.”)
Further language appears to stipulate that livestreams of music should be something shared exclusively amongst “family and friends” which may prove isolating music exposure to individuals outside one’s “friends lift.”
This could be a potential blow to the livestream market that has helped so many musicians, specifically those in the New Orleans area, collect PayPal funds and more from their performances and co-posts with organizations that have a wider audience. This may push music venues to utilize a platform such as StageIt (which we profiled last week in a piece about d.b.a.’s new streaming partnership) in order to continue performing with restricted Covid guidelines in place affecting live in-person music shows.
A Facebook spokesperson told the British music magazine NME in September “although new guidelines will come into effect across the site in October, the music guidelines have been in place for some time and will not affect artists using the site to livestream gigs or share their music.”
Snopes.com has said that the hype and fear about the possible restrictions are based on “mostly false” conjecture. That said, the Facebook for Media blog run by Facebook itself has said “Shorter clips of music are recommended.” This could be nebulous language for those streaming 15 minute sets or longer. While sites like Snopes are adamanent the social media giant is relatively clear about their policy, it appears musicians and many others are confused by the ambiguous wording.
On September 30, Kermit Ruffins continued to stream his “last” livestream from his Tremé Mother-in-law’s Lounge out of fear for the new October 1 repercussions.
As of presstime, OffBeat is seeking further information. If you have a tip, email [email protected]
