Facebook to call on music industry for global licensing

Facebook is looking to boost its music industry footprint and is starting with the search for a Director of Global Music Licensing.

According to the job advertisement, which can be read in full here, the social network giant is seeking someone with 10+ years of partner management experience, to be based at Facebook’s headquaters in Menlo Park, California.

The ad seeks a candidate “who is passionate about the changing music ecosystem, technology and supporting our goal of connecting people through social media, the mobile eco-system and business strategy.”

The successful applicant will lead Facebook’s strategy and negotiations with music labels and publishing/performing rights organisations, as well as collaborate with Facebook’s product and media partnerships teams “to ensure a coordinated and best-in-class licensing structure.”

Facebook has become more involved with the music community of late. Earlier this year it launched its video Rights Manager to stop the “freebooting” plague that has caused tension between Facebook and rights holders. Freebooting is when Business Pages and celebrity commentators take videos without permission off YouTube, television or other sites and post them on Facebook as their own for personal gain. It was rampant on YouTube too, until Viacom sued it for $1 billion in 2007 for copyright infringement.

Facebook later released its Slideshow feature on the iOS app. Rolled out in Australia in May, Slideshow is a partnership with Warner Music that allows users to turn photos and videos into short clips, soundtracked by Warner-associated music.

Then in July, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg told investors during an earnings call, “the big theme and strategy that we’re executing is we’re going to become video first.

“We really believe that –and call it five years, or whatever the period of time that it takes to get there –I think most of what people consume online is going to be video,” he said.

With 1.7 billion users and a strong desire to partner with labels, publishers and performing rights organisations, Facebook could very well become a major revenue tool for rights holders.