Instagram has posted its guidelines for using copyrighted music between live videos, news, and other posts on the platform, and part of the announcement includes a new update to a notification that alerts users that they use illegal art in ways that violate its laws. The change to the pop-up notification is designed to help users avoid Instagram’s automatic interruptions – such as turning on or off directly – that happens when a licensed piece of music plays too long or after a live video.
Now, notifications are popping up in the live stream to give users more time to clear the sound to avoid interrupting the broadcast or being lowered. Instagram will also provide clear repair instructions in case the stream is automatically muted or blocked due to the use of illegal music.
“These notifications are intended to alert you when our systems detect that your streaming or uploaded video may be inappropriate downloading of music in accordance with our licensing agreements,” reads an Instagram blog post on the changes. “Updates include making notifications more transparent and using notifications earlier to stream live, giving people time to adjust their stream and avoid interruption if we see that they may be approaching our borders.”
Instagram also says that its policy on the use of music includes unlimited use of the News and recordings of live music performance and sending those to the main feed. But using music in a live video or recorded video for a feed is limited, and Instagram states that the general rule of thumb is to use short clips, to try not to use multiple clips of various music throughout the video, and to Avoid making music streaming a priority for the video.
“These guidelines are directly related to live and recorded video on Facebook and Instagram, and on all types of accounts – pages, profiles, verified and unverified accounts,” explains the blog post. “And even though music is being introduced on our platforms in over 90 countries, there are still places that are not yet available. So if your video includes recorded music, you may not be available for use in those areas. ”