Snapchat is a popular social media app that allows users to send disappearing photos, videos, and messages called “snaps.” One of Snapchat’s key features is the ability to add music to snaps and stories. But what music database does Snapchat use for its music and sounds?
Snapchat’s Licensing Deals for Music
Snapchat does not have its own proprietary music database. Instead, Snapchat has licensing deals with major music companies, publishers, and distributors to access their music catalogs. Here are some of Snapchat’s key licensing partnerships:
- Sony Music Entertainment – In 2016, Snapchat signed a deal with Sony Music to access Sony’s catalog of music from artists like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, and more.
- Universal Music Group – Universal Music Group signed a multi-year agreement with Snapchat in 2017 to license music from Universal’s labels like Republic Records, Def Jam, Capitol Records, and Island Records.
- Warner Music Group – Warner entered a partnership with Snapchat in 2017 as well, providing Snapchat access to Warner’s vast music catalog with artists like Bruno Mars, Cardi B, Ed Sheeran, and more.
- Merlin – In 2019, Snapchat signed an agreement with Merlin, which represents tens of thousands of independent labels and distributors. This gave Snapchat access to many indie artists.
- BMI – Snapchat has a multi-year deal with BMI, a music rights organization that represents over 1 million songwriters, composers, and publishers.
These major label deals give Snapchat licensing access to a huge library of popular music to use in its app features. Snapchat also has direct deals with some individual artists and their publishers.
How Snapchat’s Music Features Work
With access to these vast music catalogs, Snapchat can tap into them to power its various music-related creative tools:
- Sounds – Users can add short music clips and sound bites as background sounds for their snaps and stories. The Sounds database includes short excerpts from songs, movie/TV clips, and other audio.
- Song Lyrics – Users can overlay lyrics from songs over their snaps and stories. This uses Snapchat’s music licensing deals to display lyrics.
- Music Stickers – Snapchat offers stickers featuring album art and artist imagery that can be added to snaps.
- Playlists – Snapchat has curated music playlists like “Weekend Party” and “Road Trip” that fit certain themes and activities.
Snapchat draws from the full music catalogs that it has licensing access to in order to power these features. The Sounds database is especially broad – spanning short samples from songs, movies, shows, YouTube videos, and more.
How Artists Get Their Music on Snapchat
If an artist wants their music to be available for Snapchat’s features, there are a couple ways to make that happen:
- Get signed to a major record label like Sony, Universal, or Warner. Snapchat has access to the entire catalogs of these labels.
- Distribute music through a distributor like CD Baby, TuneCore, or DistroKid. These companies typically partner with Merlin to get music onto streaming services.
- Publish music through a music publishing admin company like Songtrust or Downtown Music Publishing. They ensure publishing rights are cleared for streaming services.
- Directly pitch music to Snapchat. Artists and labels can reportedly submit music for consideration via Snapchat’s artist portal.
Essentially, getting music properly distributed through the major label system or respected distributors can help get it on Snapchat’s radar. Direct pitching is also an option. But Snapchat pulls music from various publishing and distribution sources – not a direct upload platform.
Limitations of Snapchat’s Music Use
While Snapchat has broad music licensing access, there are some limitations around how music can be used:
- Short samples only – Full songs cannot be uploaded and shared on Snapchat. Only short clips are available as Sounds.
- No saving/sharing – Sounds and music stickers cannot be saved or shared off Snapchat due to licensing restrictions.
- Lyrics only – Only lyrics are displayed, not full song recordings.
- Limited playlists – Snapchat’s playlist integration is limited compared to streaming platforms.
Overall, Snapchat has licenses mainly for short samples of songs, lyrics, and images – not for full tracks. This is tailored to Snapchat’s ephemeral, short-form style.
Does Snapchat Pay Royalties?
Yes, Snapchat pays music royalties to artists, songwriters, publishers, and rights holders whenever their work is used on Snapchat. This includes:
- Mechanical royalties – For use of musical compositions and lyrics.
- Master use royalties – For use of sound recordings.
- Synchronization royalties – For syncing music with visual media like videos.
These royalty payments are facilitated through Snapchat’s licensing deals with labels, publishers, and distributors. The companies then pay out royalties according to their contractual terms with artists.
Royalty rates can vary based on factors like length of use, type of use, and more. But in general, Snapchat’s short-form uses like Sounds and lyrics tend to pay lower royalties than long-form uses. But it can still quickly add up with Snapchat’s large user base.
Music Recognition Technology
To power certain music features in its app, Snapchat uses audio recognition technology. Here are some examples:
- Songs in Snaps – Users can Shazam a song playing in the background of a snap to identify it.
- Sounds – Snapchat identifies music and audio clips to match them with Snaps.
- Lyrics – Lyrics require identifying the correct song to pull lyrics from Snapchat’s licensed catalogs.
Snapchat likely uses a combination of in-house audio fingerprinting technology and partnerships with external music recognition platforms. Shazam and SoundHound are examples of services that specialize in audio identification that Snapchat could leverage through business deals.
This allows Snapchat to detect and match music playing in the background of videos as well as identify songs that lyrics should be pulled for. Billions of Shazams per month help Snapchat expand its music recognition capabilities.
Partnerships with Streaming Services
In addition to its direct music licensing deals, Snapchat also partners with various music and audio streaming platforms. For example:
- Spotify – Snapchat has integrated Spotify playback and sharing capabilities within Snapchat.
- SoundCloud – Users can share SoundCloud tracks and playlists directly through Snapchat.
- Pandora and iHeartRadio – Snapchat provides native integration with these internet radio services.
These types of partnerships allow Snapchat users to easily access music from their favorite streaming sources to post on Snapchat or listen to within the app.
Snapchat is selective with which services it partners with for integrations. But music and audio platforms are natural fits given how core music is to the Snapchat experience. These partnerships supplement Snapchat’s own music licenses and capabilities.
Conclusion
Snapchat relies on licensing deals with major labels, publishers, and distributors to access a vast music catalog for its app features. Artists can get their music on Snapchat by getting signed to a major label, using respected distributors, or directly pitching their tracks. Snapchat uses audio recognition to detect songs and pays out royalties for music usage. Integrations with streaming platforms complement Snapchat’s own music licenses. Ultimately, Snapchat doesn’t rely on one single music database – its access comes from partnerships across the music industry.