On March 20 it was announced that Meta, a technology company formerly known as Facebook, had decided to pull Italian music from its Facebook and Instagram platforms. The tech company has begun banning Italian music that is managed by the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE). The two companies were unable to renew
their partnership agreement, which expired at the end of December 2022, according to Billboard. This means that Meta will “no longer make available SIAE licensed works in Meta’s music library,” a spokesperson for Meta said in a statement to Billboard.
Any songs managed by SIAE will be blocked on Facebook, including Facebook Reels and Stories, while content will be muted on Instagram. According to Billboard, Rome-based SIAE is the world’s sixth largest copyright collective management organization that represents the rights of around 5.7 million Italian music works and 95,000 members, some of which include the country’s most famous artists, such as Ennio Morricone and Mäneskin. The organization also manages public performance rights of 62 million Italian and international works across music, cinema, literature, and more.
Some of Italy's most famous artists, such as Ennio Morricone and Mäneskin (pictured above) will be affected by this ban.
During negotiations for a new deal, Meta offered a “lump-sum value” without the crucial information SIAE needed to decide if it was fair compensation for its rights holders, said a SIAE spokesperson to Billboard. Meta’s decision to pull Italian music from its platform has sparked ire from the music industry, particularly from music rights groups.
“Meta has decided to use its position as a corporate mega power to hold artists at gunpoint and undervalue their hard work and creativity,” the Brussels-based Independent Music Publishers International Forum (IMPF) said in a statement. “Fair and honest negotiation is the only way forward. Meta needs to retract.”
Matteo Fedeli, the CEO of SIAE, told Billboard that despite Meta’s militant behavior, he is open to resuming negotiations. “We want to reach an agreement in good faith that is satisfying for both parties. We know that we’re not aiming for the moon. We’re asking for a perfectly reasonable figure.”
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy. In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, The Christian Science Monitor, and Grub Street, New York Magazine's food section. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.