Instagram has posted detailed guidelines for Instagram users regarding the use of copyrighted music on its platform.

The Facebook-owned photo-sharing platform has also launched a new feature where it will notify the users before they are using unlicensed music in a way that violates the platform’s rules.

This will prevent users’ content from Instagram’s automated interruptions including blocking or muting of a video.

The platform has posted its guidelines for using copyrighted music in live videos, Stories, and other posts.

“As part of our licensing agreements, there are limitations around the amount of recorded music that can be included in Live broadcasts or videos. While the specifics of our licensing agreements are confidential, today we’re sharing some general guidelines to help you plan your videos better,” Instagram said in an official blog post.

There is no limit to music in Stories when filming traditional music performances such as a live artist or band performing and posting those to the main feed. When it comes to using pre-recorded music in a live video or a pre-recorded video posted to the feed, there are certain limitations. Instagram recommends to keep videos short and to have a visual element to such videos. The pre-recorded audio should not be the focus on the video. Users should not use numerous clips of different music throughout the video.

“These guidelines are consistent across live and recorded video on both Facebook and Instagram, and for all types of accounts — i.e. pages, profiles, verified and unverified accounts,” Instagram explained. “And although music is launched on our platforms in more than 90 countries, there are places where it is not yet available. So if your video includes recorded music, it may not be available for use in those locations.”

The social media platform has also introduced in-product notifications to alert users when they are using music in a way that can violate Instagram’s agreement to minimize interruptions.

“We know it can be frustrating to have a stream interrupted or to have parts of your video muted because it includes music. To minimize these interruptions and to prevent confusion around audio use, we’re also improving our in-product notifications,” Instagram said.

“These notifications are intended to alert you when our systems detect that your broadcast or uploaded video may include music in a way that doesn’t adhere to our licensing agreements,” it added.

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