Photo Credit: Snap Inc.
Snap unveils two new features for Snapchat Sounds: Recommendations for Lenses and Sync for Camera Roll.
Snapchat’s Sounds functionality, which enables users to add licensed song clips, video excerpts, and their original audio to their Snaps and Stories, has announced two new features available on iOS in the US, rolling out globally and on Android in the coming months.
Sounds Recommendations for Lenses allows users to find relevant Sounds to complement a Lens by tapping the Sounds icon while a Lens is applied. Meanwhile, Sounds Sync for Camera Roll photos and videos enables Snapchatters to create montage videos automatically synced to the beat of audio tracks from the Sounds library with up to 20 photos or videos from their camera roll.
Since launching Sounds, videos created with music from Sounds on Snapchat have resulted in over 2.7 billion videos created. The company vows continuing support of the music industry by “ensuring the entire music ecosystem is seeing value in its partnerships.”
“By expanding the Sounds experience, Snapchat is making it easier and faster for Snapchatters to discover and share the music they love with friends,” says Manny Adler, Head of Music Strategy at Snap. “Snapchat has also created a unique opportunity for artists to reach a valuable and engaged audience, while then also leading fans to listen to the full song on streaming services.”
Snapchat recently achieved a milestone of over 750 million monthly active users worldwide, citing a reach of more than 75% of 13 to 34-year-olds in more than 20 countries. The platform’s augmented reality Lenses remain a big draw for users; nearly two-thirds of Snapchat’s Spotlight submissions use one of the provided creative tools or an AR Lens.
With over 250 million users engaging with augmented reality features on a daily basis, Snap’s leading AR Lens technology, combined with licensed content through Sounds, “delivers both a hyper-expressive experience to engage with friends and a powerful distribution tool for artists to share their music with fans.”