Saregama, Meta renew music licensing deal for Shorts, Stories

Saregama has renewed their deal with Meta for having its music on Instagram Reels, Stories, and other Facebook products, Entrackr has learnt. We had reported earlier this month that this deal, signed two years ago, was left to expire, with the companies apparently unable to agree on financial terms for the deal.

The deal allows Saregama’s music to be used by Instagram users and influencers, by selecting Saregama songs as background music on Reels and Stories.

Saregama’s music is now available again on Meta’s products. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment, pointing to the company’s earlier remarks refusing to say anything about negotiations with partners. A Saregama spokesperson declined to comment, but acknowledged that the music was back on Meta’s platforms.

Shortly before letting the deal with Meta expire, Saregama announced a deal with Google to have its catalog used for YouTube Shorts videos. An industry insider had then speculated that since a couple years have passed since labels first licensing to short video platforms, the former have started to demand more value from their deals.

It’s unclear what changed Meta’s or Saregama’s mind with regard to renewing this deal. However, Saregama’s bargaining position may have not been too shabby. The company’s annual report published in August shows that its licensing revenues account for over 75% of its overall music revenue, and those revenues have been growing steadily over the years, even during the COVID years. (But its music revenue overall stagnated QoQ in FY22.)

Music licensing revenues include everything from revenues from platforms like Spotify, ad revenue from YouTube, sales of Saregama’s Carvaan music player. In FY22, Saregama earned Rs 358.7 crore from such licensing. It is unclear what portion of this revenue comes from short video licensing deals like that between Saregama and platforms like Instagram and YouTube.