Adobe adds licensed music clips to Premiere mobile

Adobe has partnered with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group to add licensed music clips to Premiere mobile, bringing music from two major record companies into the video editing app.

Users will be able to browse, search and preview tracks from artists represented by the two groups, then add clips of up to 60 seconds to videos created in the app.

The arrangement is aimed at personal, non-commercial use. Creators working on projects that require commercially licensed music will still need to use Adobe Stock Audio.

Premiere mobile is Adobe's mobile video editing app, and the addition of music is part of a broader effort to keep more of the creation process within a single product. Users will be able to shape edits around songs from the first cut and export finished videos for posting to licensed social platforms.

Music in app

Adobe said the new tools will let users filter tracks by genre and duration, bookmark favourites and explore label-curated collections. The app will also include templates paired with music to help users start edits with visuals and soundtrack already aligned.

The update sits alongside existing video and audio tools in Premiere mobile, including audio clean-up features and image generation tools based on Adobe Firefly. Adobe said the music addition will work within those editing workflows rather than as a separate service.

For Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, the partnership extends their catalogues into a mobile editing environment built for short-form video. Both companies framed the arrangement as a way for artists and songwriters to reach audiences during the act of creation rather than only at the point of listening.

Access to licensed tracks within editing software has been a challenge in social video production, particularly for creators who want to build clips around well-known songs without moving between multiple apps. By placing music search and selection inside Premiere mobile, Adobe is trying to remove some of that friction for users creating personal content.

Adobe did not say how many tracks would be available at launch. It said the offering would include music from leading artists under the two music groups, with the features due to arrive in the app soon.

Bryan Stone, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Universal Music Group, described the partnership as a way to connect creation and music discovery in one workflow. "Music has always been a powerful way for people to express themselves and connect with others. By bringing licensed music from UMG artists into Adobe Premiere mobile, we're giving creators new ways to build their stories around the songs they love for the first time, while helping our artists and songwriters reach new audiences," Stone said.

Warner Music Group made a similar point, saying music consumption now extends beyond streaming and download services. "The way people experience and engage with music extends far beyond traditional listening platforms," said Rachel Scarpati, Vice President of Digital Strategy and Business Development at WMG. "Our partnership with Adobe Premiere mobile integrates WMG's catalog directly into the creative process, opening up new possibilities for creative expression and deeper fan engagement."

The addition of licensed music to Premiere mobile marks a further push by software companies to tie editing, audio selection and social publishing more closely together. In this case, Adobe is linking a free mobile app with catalogues from two of the largest music groups, while limiting the included licences to personal, non-commercial use.