Exactly thirteen days have passed since March 16, 2023. That morning, all of a sudden, Italian Facebook and Instagram users found themselves with the music removed from popular social networks. No Stories, no Reels, just an aseptic message: “This song is not currently available”.
That morning, among the general confusion, we learned that the basis of the maneuver was the lack of agreement between Meta (the giant that manages Facebook and Instagram) e SIAE, the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers. As a consequence of the failed agreement, for a few days, all the music disappeared, including international music and that of Italian authors not belonging to the SIAE catalogue.
Within a few days, much of the international catalog is back in stock, while the repertoire is also slowly making a comeback Soundreef (main competitor of SIAE in Italy). After thirteen days of discussion on the subject (we also had our say here), the Italian government enters the scene, intending to put SIAE and Meta around a discussion table.
The Ministry convenes Meta and SIAE to bring Italian music back to social media
Ansa reported today the words of Lucia Borgonzoni, Undersecretary for Culture, who declared: “Protecting the rights of our artists, their works and Italian creativity is a priority”. The Ministry of Culture has summoned the two parties to a discussion table set for Thursday 6 April.
Looking forward to April 6: how is the situation today?
To date, the Meta library, the one that includes the music that users and creators can use in their content, appears more orderly than last week, but certainly not without confusion. On social media most of the international songs by foreign artists are back, but not all. At the same a small part of the Soundreef repertoire is missingwhich for Italy manages most of the authors not associated with SIAE.
There is therefore still great confusion, not so much under heaven, as Confucius said, but on Meta’s social networks.