You Can't Use Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish & Other UMG Artistes' Songs On TikTok Anymore
In a statement late Tuesday, 30 January, TikTok said Universal Music put "greed above the interests of their artistes and songwriters".
By Reuters — 02 Feb 2024, 02:18 PM
TikTok users will no longer be able to create videos with songs from Taylor Swift, Jon Batiste, boygenius, and other Universal Music Group (UMG) artistes as the soundtrack, as contract negotiations between the two companies have collapsed
TikTok's access to Universal's expansive roster of artistes ended Wednesday, 31 January, after months of negotiations failed to yield a new agreement with the world's largest music company. Short videos featuring the label's artistes will be "muted" over time.
The high-profile dispute erupted as the music industry executives and artistes gathered in Los Angeles for Sunday's Grammy award ceremony.
"Our agreements with TikTok have expired because of TikTok's unwillingness to appropriately compensate artistes and songwriters, protect human artistes from the harmful effects of AI, and address online safety issues for TikTok's users," a Universal said in a statement Thursday, 1 February.
The label is asking TikTok to compensate artistes a rate commensurate with what other social media platforms pay. Now, it accounts for only 1% of total revenue — though music is a core part of the experience on the app, Universal Music said in an open letter published Tuesday, 30 January.
Universal Music also said TikTok is allowing the platform to be "flooded" with recordings generated by artificial intelligence, which dilutes the royalty pool for artistes. It also raised concerns about "problematic content", such as sexualised images of Billie Eilish, which reportedly went viral and were seen by millions of people before it was removed for violating community guidelines.
TikTok could not immediately be reached for comment
In a statement late Tuesday, TikTok said Universal Music put "greed above the interests of their artistes and songwriters". The social video platform said the music label is walking away from its powerful promotional platform that reaches more than a billion users.
"TikTok has been able to reach 'artiste-first' agreements with every other label and publisher," TikTok said in its statement.
"Clearly, Universal's self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artistes, songwriters and fans."
TikTok published a report in November touting its role as a "launchpad for creating viral hits and breaking new artistes." Its Music Impact Report found that TikTok helped users discover music and connect with artistes. It also reported that its users are more likely to use a paid music streaming services, creating value for the artistes.
"Even though TikTok (formerly Musical.ly) has built one of the world’s largest and most valuable social media platforms off the backs of artistes and songwriters, TikTok still argues that artistes should be grateful for the 'free promotion'," Universal said.
