Facebook adds official music videos, taking on YouTube

Facebook will also premiere some videos exclusively, including new ones from artists like J. Balvin and Lele Pons.

Facebook said Friday it's adding official music videos to its social network in the US, starting this week. The feature will allow people to find, watch and share music videos on Facebook, taking on the world's No. 1 place to watch music videos online (and the No. 1 place to watch, well, all videos online): Google's YouTube.

Facebook said it would also be the source for exclusive music video premieres in the coming weeks, including videos from artists like J. Balvin, Karol G, Sebastian Yatra, Alejandro Fernandez, Calibre 50 and Lele Pons, according to a blog post.

Facebook is the world's biggest social network, but YouTube, with more than 2 billion viewers a month, is the internet's top source for video -- and official music videos crowd YouTube's rankings of the most-watched videos on the service ever.

Facebook on Friday touted how music videos on its own platform would allow artists to engage closely with fans through features like custom AR effects and music stickers, hosting Q&As on Facebook Live, and raising money for important causes through the donate button in Live and Stories

Facebook said it's also been working with partners in India and Thailand to build the foundation of a music video experience on Facebook there too.