TikTok Slams Universal Music Group For Threatening To Pull Catalog From Service
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Universal Music Group is poised to pull its music catalog from TikTok starting tomorrow if the company does not reach an agreement with the social media app for a new licensing deal. That means that artists from their roster — which includes Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Drake, BTS, and many more — would no longer be available as a soundtrack on the app.
In an open letter from UMG published on Tuesday, the company named three “critical issues” that they could not agree on in negotiations: “appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.”
The letter goes on: “TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay. 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.”
UMG accused TikTok of attempting to “bully” them into a deal “by selectively removing the music of certain of our developing artists, while keeping on the platform our audience-driving global stars.”
TikTok has responded in a statement:
It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.
Despite Universal’s false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.
TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.
It’s unclear whether negotiations between Universal Music Group and TikTok are ongoing. If they don’t reach a deal today, UMG’s music will disappear from the platform tomorrow.
