Snap Bolsters Music Catalog with Universal Music Group Deal

Social networking company Snap (SNAP) has inked a multi-year deal with Universal Music Group (UMG), paving the way for users to access the music company’s expansive music catalog. The deal comes after Snap integrated Sounds to enable music on its network.

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Snap users will be able to clip songs from UMG’s catalog and feature them in Sounds and Lenses as part of the deal. The collaboration will also enhance the sharing of UMG artists’ music through Snap’s library. (See SNAP stock chart on TipRanks)

Search, Shortcuts, and Playlists are the other features integrated to enhance the discovery of Sounds on the platform. Since the launch of Sounds, Snap users have created more than 521 million videos resulting in 31 billion views.

“We’re thrilled they (Snap) are partnering with UMG because more than any of our past posts, now our fans will be able to use our music to engage with each other and across their posts, Stories, and Lenses,” said UMG artists, the Jonas Brothers.

In early June, Bank of America Securities analyst Justin Post reiterated a Hold rating on the stock with a price target of $70, implying 3.5% upside potential from current levels. According to the analyst, recent Ad manager data suggests quarter-over-quarter pressure on user activity.

“A mixed bag of data, ad manager data is more cautious, SensorTower DAU data is trending roughly in-line with estimates, while CPM data suggests robust CPM growth. We maintain our constructive view on Snap’s product innovation and opportunity, but continue to favor bigger cyclical beneficiaries with improving usage, potential for accelerating 2H revenue growth and lower valuations,” said Post.

Consensus among analysts is a Moderate Buy based on 20 Buys, 6 Holds, and 1 Sell. The average Snap analyst price target of $77.71 implies 14.9% upside potential from current levels.

SNAP scores a 9 out of 10 on TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock has strong potential to outperform market expectations.