Last weekend, social media got anxiously buzzing with musicians concerned about ‘upcoming’ changes to Facebook’s rules about livestreamed music through the social media giant.

It was widely understood that nobody would be allowed to livestream their shows, or post music videos, without risking their videos being removed or their accounts being deleted – a nightmare for everyone who has spent years building up their fanbase, constantly learning and re-learning how to deal with ever-changing algorithms and best practises to get their music into as many ears on the platform as possible.

This was followed by a blog on Facebook For Media on September 11 wherein the site clarifies the guidelines for using music in stories and video streams. The policy everyone had got worried about was in fact a badly worded excerpt from Facebook’s Terms and Conditions, and had last been updated about two years ago.

The blog states that “…music in stories and traditional live music performances (e.g., filming an artist or band performing live) are permitted.

“As part of our licensing agreements, there are limitations around the amount of recorded music that can be included in live broadcasts or videos.”

Basically, if you’re not the copyright holder of a song, you’re still risking having your content muted or deleted, and your account being cancelled. The risk for that has stayed as high as it has been for the last two years. Not good for DJs, but good news for original artists.

Collective deep breath! So, as you were! Keep up the livestreaming – it’s all many of us get to fix their need for live music these days.