Pinterest strikes deals with Warner, Merlin and BMG to expand music experience on platform

Social media service Pinterest has struck new partnerships with Warner Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, BMG and Merlin, the global rights agency for the independent label sector.

According to a press release announcing the string of partnerships, “through these new deals, users will now be able to add tracks from Ed Sheeran, Silk Sonic, Anitta, and many more to their Idea Pins”. 

Launched in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland in May 2021, Pinterest’s ‘Idea Pins’ let creators publish short-form video content directly to Pinterest.

Idea Pin creation includes video recording and editing for up to 20 pages of content. Videos can be 60 seconds long.

Pinterest first partnered with Epidemic Sound to provide the music for creators’ Idea Pins.

The new partnerships expand Pinterest’s existing royalty-free music library to include licensed tracks powered by B2B digital music platform 7Digital.

Additionally, according to the announcement issued on Wednesday (October 19), music licensing company Rumblefish is providing Pinterest with music metadata and license management services.

San Francisco-based Pinterest, a social media platform based around image sharing, has a vast global audience, with 433 million Global Monthly Active Users as of Q2 2022. That MAU figure declined 5% year-over-year, however.

Pinterest reported Q2 revenue of $666 million, which was up 9% YoY.

In addition to the new catalog of music and artists, now available on iOS and Android, Pinterest says that it has rolled out a new music UX “to make it even easier for Pinners and creators to find and add their favorite tracks to Idea Pins”.

Users will now be able to search for their desired track by song title, artist, or keyword and then add the music to Idea Pins:

“Music plays a vital role in elevating storytelling and empowering storytellers, creators, and Pinners who inspire the world every day on Pinterest,” said Malik Ducard, Chief Content Officer, Pinterest.

“We are thrilled to partner with Warner Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, Merlin, and BMG to bring the latest music tracks to our platform and elevate the content and inspiration created on Pinterest.”

“The future of media will be founded on music.”

Oana Ruxandra, WMG 

Oana Ruxandra, Chief Digital Officer & EVP, Business Development, WMG said: “The future of media will be founded on music.

“WMG, including our publishing partners at Warner Chappell, is incredibly excited to partner with Pinterest to help inspire their users to engage, design, and imagine. Together, the creative potential for Pinterest audiences will be virtually endless.”

“This partnership has been a truly collaborative process to visualize how Pinterest creators can make music a more integral part of their experience on the platform.”

Jeremy Sirota, Merlin

Jeremy Sirota, CEO, Merlin, said: “This partnership has been a truly collaborative process to visualize how Pinterest creators can make music a more integral part of their experience on the platform.

“We are excited to make independent music part of Pinterest’s exciting feature. Merlin members are excited to see the content that emerges from it.”Music Business Worldwide