Face Dance social app is a hit… claiming ‘fair use’ of music
Update 12/05/22: Face Dance has subsequently reached out to Music Ally and asked if we would add this clarification: “We would like to clarify that our team is working meticulously for the proper use of music in our app and respects copyrights in accordance with the legal requirements under the applicable law.”
What will be the next big social music hit? An app called Face Dance seems to be showing momentum, reaching the top 10 in Apple’s UK App Store’s entertainment category, and cracking the top 30 in the US store too.
It’s described as a “photo animator app” where people can animate their selfies and lip sync. And yes, that means lip syncing to music. “With hundreds of songs to choose from, FaceDance offers you an extensive music library. Just pick your favourite and make your photos sing,” as the App Store listing puts it.
Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’, Dua Lipa’s ‘Levitating’, Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies’ and Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ are among the tracks provided.
Licensing? “We are using the songs in accordance with the fair use policy provided by the labels, specifically creating parodical representations of the copyrighted content,” claims the developer.
We’ll be interested to see what labels and publishers make of this approach.
