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This week on the Producer Life Podcast we’re talking about the big changes to Facebook’s Terms of Service which you DEFINITELY need to be aware of if you’re live streaming your DJ sets. 

You’ll Learn

• How Facebook’s Updated Terms of Service (effective 1 October) affect DJ live streaming
• Alternatives to Facebook

Resources

Transcript

What’s up Heroes, welcome to episode 37 of the Producer Life Podcast. This week we’re talking about the big changes to Facebook’s Terms of Service which you DEFINITELY need to be aware of if you’re live streaming DJ sets there. 

But first, cue the intro music.

If you’re like many DJs during the pandemic, you’ve started livestreaming. I’ve talked about this numerous times on this show, including episodes 20, 21, 27 and 32.

Last week Facebook updated their terms of conditions, effective 1 October.  Their music supplements states, quote:

“You may not use videos on our Products to create a music listening experience. We want you to be able to enjoy videos posted by family and friends. However, if you use videos on our Products to create a music listening experience for yourself or for others, your videos will be blocked and your page, profile or group may be deleted. This includes Live.”

Facebook Music Guidelines

Bottom line: if you’re playing other people’s music, Facebook doesn’t want you livestreaming. Regardless of what you think of Facebook, they have one of the best advertising platforms on the planet and if you’re using Facebook to run ads… having your account deleted could be disastrous so it doesn’t seem worth the risk livestreaming there.

As I was researching this podcast episode many people have questioned why Facebook doesn’t create licencing agreements with the various rights organizations like BMI and ASCAP… I have no idea. It seems like this would be an opportunity to serve their customers and maybe make some extra money by passing those expenses on to the DJs…  but they haven’t.

So where does that leave us?  Well, our best two options are Mixcloud and YouTube. Mixcloud is completely legal and has been making some big strides since they launched their livestreaming back in April. They’ve recently added integration with Restream.io, made setup easier, and they just started to offer the ability to post an audio recording of your livestream to your mixcloud feed. Their biggest selling point is that  they’ve got licencing agreements with Warner, Universal, Merlin, and other rights groups which makes it legal to stream and post your mixes there.  

I tried Mixcloud for livestreaming for the last 90 days and it worked pretty well… but I just wasn’t getting any traction there. The audience is a lot smaller…. While I was averaging 50 people/week on Facebook I would only get one or two on Mixcloud.   That said, I do see other DJs having success there so I may have to revisit the platform. Also, Mixcloud also gives you the ability to monetize your stream through subscriptions, although you do have to pay for their $15/month membership to either stream or monetize. Even if you decide not to livestream there it’s the perfect place to share your audio mixes.

The other option is YouTube, which I also talked about back in episode 27.  It’s free to steam there, it’s one of the top websites on the planet, and their content ID system works really well. I’m finding that about 90% of the music I play (pop remixes, EDM, dance tracks, mainstream club music, and trance) gets identified, allowed, and monetized for the original rights holders. I’ve had a few tracks that are outright blocked…. In which case I have to trim them out of the video… but overall YouTube has worked well and it has a vastly larger audience than Mixcloud.

So, are you going to roll-the-dice and continue livestreaming on Facebook… or move somewhere else? Have you tried mixcloud? I’d love to know your thoughts. You can share them over at ProducerLifePodcast.com, episode 37 or on our private Facebook group at Https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProducerLifePodcast

Also, it would be a huge help if you’d leave a rating and review over on Apple Podcasts or wherever you’re listening.  Thanks so much.  

Until next week, this is the House Ninja reminding you to be someone’s Hero today.