Snapchat has just announced its new collaboration with Sony Music Entertainment to include its artists’ music into Snap’s Sounds Library. Users will be able to express themselves through a wider range of audio for their Snaps. Fully licensed Sony Music artists will equally benefit by receiving greater exposure.
The company will also be adding Sounds into their AR Lenses, which will be accessible through the Lens Carousel. Snapchat is planning to introduce features such as “Sound Lenses” with a pre-selected song embedded into the lens. The lens will alter pictures of anyone to appear as though they are singing the song. A musical icon on the Lens icon will indicate Lenses with Sound. Users will also be able to apply visual effects using “Cameo Sound Lenses”. According to Snapchat, with over 200 million users engaging with augmented reality each day, these new lenses are to further enhance the app’s musical experience.
Sony Music has already worked with Snapchat on various AR Lenses projects. The companies produced a partner lens for G-Eazy and Halsey “Him and I,” which garnered over 60 million creations and 750 million views; and a partner lens for Calvin Harris and Rag’n’Bone Man’s “Giant,” which accumulated over 90 million creations and 1 billion views. Kygo’s collaboration with Whitney Houston on her unreleased version of “Higher Love” also had a limited-release lens.
Sony Music’s President of Global Digital Business Dennis Kooker said, “We are pleased to be expanding our relationship with Snap to develop new commercial opportunities for our artists around short form video and augmented reality experiences.”
Snapchat’s Musical Expansion
The deal is simply the latest expansion of Snapchat rapidly growing musical reserve. It has signed partnerships with various studios and corporations including Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Kobalt, BMG, and more. Snapchat also says they are working with individual songwriters and producers.
Snapchat also signed with NBC Universal to offer audio clips from NBCU movies, television shows, and original programming from Peacock. The deal includes popular titles such as “The Office,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Bridesmaids,” “Scarface,” “Parks and Recreation,” “30 Rock,” and more.
The platform has been looking to challenge their biggest competitor, TikTok, which popularized short form video content. The app places heavy emphasis on audio, which users often lip sync to convey various stories, skits, and other content. Last year, Snapchat launched Sounds to also allow users to implement music into their videos. However, while TikTok users can simply search for any track, Snapchatters are restricted to music from the app’s “Featured Sounds.”
Despite this, Snapchat’s Vice President Of Content And Partnerships Ben Schwerin seems optimistic about the company’s musical growth.
“Our new deal with Sony Music marks a major milestone as Snap now has partnerships with all the major labels, in addition to networks of independent labels and emerging artists,” Schwerin said. “We’re excited to further integrate Sounds into our AR Lenses to provide artists a proven and powerful way to share their music, and create immersive new experiences for our community.”
Feature post courtesy of Snapchat
