CAM REPORT

Facebook is partnering with Warner Music on a new feature called Slideshow that lets users soundtrack their photos and videos, with popular songs. Facebook confirmed to Digital Trends that Slideshow is being tested in Australia this week.

The social network currently has a similar function in its Moments app, which lets you add a snippet from the company’s personal collection of music to your existing images and videos. The platform has been testing that feature in its flagship iOS app since October 2015.

Read more: Warner Music Group’s reliance on streaming revenue reaches a tipping point

The Slideshow option, in its current trial format, is available to select users when they go to create a post. Like Moments, it automatically groups together photos and videos from an event, such as a birthday party or vacation, with additional settings that allow users to manually select or remove content from a collage. Once you’re happy with your Slideshow, you can add music to it and give it a title. With the update, the former option will be expanded to include real songs.

“We are always testing ways to help people better share their stories with friends. Slideshows are a new way for people to share photos and videos in a creative and succinct way,” a Facebook spokesperson told Digital Trends. “To date, we’ve been using Facebook-owned music to accompany these slideshows, we will now be testing the use of a limited amount of music from Warner Music Group as soundtrack options. ”

Although the social network has not revealed how extensive the list of Warner Music tracks will be, the record label’s roster includes the likes of Ed Sheeran, Kylie Minogue, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wiz Khalifa, and many others.

“Pop music can add a richness to these photos and video clips,” Laura Franks, Entertainment News and Partnerships lead at Facebook, told Digital Trends. ” We’re giving people access to some of their favorite artists, so they can make amazing stories on Facebook.”

Slideshows will see Facebook wade into a popular sector: the user-created music video. Trending apps from tech startups Flipagram and musical.ly currently boast similar functions, allowing users to lip-sync to contemporary pop hits, or create their own musical clips. Additionally, viral videos showcasing the latest dance trends have become a popular mainstay on platforms such as Vine and YouTube.

Overall, personal music videos have proven popular with younger users on the aforementioned services. Flipagram, which lets users create their own take on hit songs by using videos, images, and text in 60-second clips, now claims to get over 4 billion views a day. It seems that in the race for video numbers, which has seen Snapchatcatch up to Facebook, the latter is looking to grab a chunk of that music-driven audience in order to gain back an advantage.