On January 30th, 2024, the popular social media app, TikTok, suffered a massive blow after negotiations with the Universal Music Group (UMG) fell through, with UMG emphasizing 3 critical issues it had with the platform: “appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.” To any users of the app, this means that some of the world’s most popular music—including works from Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Drake, and many more—will be removed from TikTok’s massive library of soundtracks.
This issue began with an scathing letter from UMG titled “Why we must call Time Out on TikTok,” where UMG, the biggest music company in the world, accused TikTok of trying to coerce them into settling for a deal of lesser value than their previous licensing agreement, which expired on January 31st, 2024. In UMG’s words:
“Today, as an indication of how little TikTok compensates artists and songwriters, despite its massive and growing user base, rapidly rising advertising revenue and increasing reliance on music-based content, TikTok accounts for only about 1% of our total revenue.”
Beyond that, the music company also described how TikTok’s experimentation and support with AI has devalued their company’s holdings and the reputation of their artists. This comes as TikTok has ventured into new fields, such as with TikTok Music (which acts as a rival to Spotify and Apple Music) and an “AI Song” feature that allows users to create songs using prompts. According to the label:
“TikTok is allowing the platform to be flooded with AI-generated recordings […] and then demanding a contractual right which would allow this content to massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists, in a move that is nothing short of sponsoring artist replacement by AI.”
UMG has also accused the social media company of failing to regulate explicit content, especially with the wave of inappropriate deep fakes that have filled the app. They described removing problematic content as a “monumentally cumbersome and inefficient process which equates to the digital equivalent of ‘Whack-a-Mole.’”
In response, TikTok fired back with accusations that UMG “put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters,” declaring that the actions of the music company were alienating them from a billion plus users. TikTok’s statement emphasized how they were able to “reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher,” concluding that UMG’s actions were not in the best interests of artists, songwriters, or fans.
To TikTok’s users, this falling-out between the two companies means that around 3 million recorded music tracks and 4 million songs will no longer be available for use on the social media platform. But some users are already finding alternatives, from recording their own covers to creating comical parodies. There is no telling how TikTok’s music and overall use will be affected long term by UMG’s separation from the platform however.
