Updated 7/3/15 10:30 AM PST: Facebook is negotiating to bring major labels music videos to news feeds.
News recently came out that Facebook was in talks with major labels. Now Facebook’s video monetization plan is here.
Facebook will split revenue from video ads with creators. The split is the same as YouTube, 55% goes to creators and 45% goes to Facebook.
Before you get all excited about your newfound revenue, realize that Facebook’s algorithm is pretty complicated.
According to Fortune, ads will only be shown when Facebook mobile users watch multiple suggested videos in a row. Ads will play between videos, and the money will be split between the creators of the videos that came before and after the ad.
For example, say Company A has a 3 minute video, then an ad plays, then a one minute video from Company B plays.
Company A would get 3/4 of 55% = 41.25% of revenue. Company B would get 1/4 of 55% = 13.75% of ad revenue.
The new revenue program is starting with a few dozen partners, including Funny or Die, NBA, Fox Sports, and others.
Nina Ulloa covers breaking news, tech, and more: @nine_u
Photo from Flickr by Nick Ares used with the Creative Commons License.
“Before you get all excited about your newfound revenue, realize that Facebook’s algorithm is pretty complicated.”
OK, this is indeed important. And there are other potential issues, as well (UGC comes to mind).
But Fortune does have a point when it compares the setup to TV commercials.
And think about it: Where would you rather place an ad — in a Katy Perry video on YouTube or Facebook?
Also, don’t — don’t — underestimate the amount of Google-fatigue among artists. A lot of people just want to move on.
Well, it depends if a Katy Perry video is even watchable on FB without it being embedded or linked. I’m wondering if this will force certain YouTube videos to be blocked on FB. Majority of music videos are on Vevo/YouTube.
“Majority of music videos are on Vevo/YouTube”
Because there are no realistic alternatives at the moment.
Facebook could change that.
I think what you are going to see here are a lot of creators wondering and asking which video created the most value for the ad and shouldn’t they get more revenue? Because what does length have to do with anything? A crappy 4 minute video paired with an amazing 2 minute one…I see a battle of value on the horizon.
Yes, Facebook needs to rethink the specifics. But the general idea is good. And the timing is perfect.
The monetization issues can be fixed. The censorship problem is more serious.
Facebook can’t show huge hits like BBHMM. YouTube will always be the winner here.
I think it’s not worth debating about Facebook monetization until we see what the real payout will look like… If it pays less than Youtube, I can already here the endless complains…
Also, I’m not really sold on commercials between videos rather than before. If I want to check a song, I’ll watch the commercial that comes before, but not the one that comes after. Don’t know if so many people watch several videos in a raw on Facebook…
This makes sense. Right now I don’t see Facebook as a place to stream a series of videos, guess we’ll see what they build and where it goes.
Could this simply be Facebook’s way of minimizing eligible payouts?
Music, Video and school integration then the kids never have to leave FB
Let’s face it, Facebook are good at making almost EVERYTHING complicated for anyone who wants to do more than Like or Share. Have you tried creating a page, an advert, etc.
The Big Dog – musicbizhow2.dogsblogz.com
Yeah, I manage multiple pages. That’s all extremely easy.
Does anybody know how this will actually appear within Facebook? Will it just be the same as videos are now?
One of the reasons Youtube is so successful is because the search function is good. It can be difficult to find things [especially videos] on Facebook after they have fallen down the news feed or are a few weeks old.
I would have thought that for this to be a real competitor to Youtube, they would need to rethink how videos appear. That would obviously have an effect on how and how often adverts are shown
What about copyright? Has that been addressed. I wonder if cover videos will be allowed after this
Hopefully they’ll fix the volume one day in the future. No need to keep the volume at full 100% blast. Most videos start with music or someone screaming. I have sent this to Facebook numerous times but their inbox is like a black hole. No response ever.