• Universal Music Group (UMG) ended negotiations with TikTok, leading to the expiration of their licensing agreement, making UMG artists’ works unavailable on the platform.
  • The fallout also affects artists collaborating with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), potentially resulting in the removal of songs from TikTok due to copyright issues.
  • UMG cited TikTok’s coercive negotiation tactics, undervalued contracts, and inadequate handling of AI-generated content rights and hate speech as reasons for the contract’s failure.

Music copyright giant Universal Music Group (UMG) announced earlier this month that negotiations with TikTok have collapsed, with no plans to renew the licensing agreement. The collaboration ended on January 31st, making works by UMG artists like Taylor Swift unavailable on TikTok.

According to Variety, the latest development affects artists collaborating with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) signed songwriters, as songs may need to be removed from TikTok due to copyright partitioning issues. This could result in the disappearance or muting of songs by artists like Taylor Swift, Adele, Justin Bieber, and others from TikTok videos.

BBC reported that UMG removed around 3 million songs from TikTok after the recording catalog agreement expired. The agreement for UMG’s catalog, covering about 4 million songs, with TikTok is set to end later this week, potentially leading to the removal of all related tracks from the short-video platform.

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Universal Music controls one-third of the world’s music copyrights

Universal Music is a major player controlling one-third of the world’s music copyrights. According to the Financial Times, Universal Music has been in tense negotiations with TikTok over contract renewals over the past year.

As previously reported by IT Home, TikTok stated in an official announcement: ‘It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group prioritises its greed over the interests of artists and songwriters. Universal Music has made false points and statements. In fact, they have chosen to forgo the powerful support offered by a platform with over a billion users, which is a tool for their talent promotion and discovery.’

TikTok’s lacklustre handling of AI-generated content rights is cited

Universal Music stated: ‘As our negotiations continue, TikTok is attempting to coerce us into accepting a contract worth less than the previous deal, significantly below fair market value, and does not reflect their exponential growth.’ Universal Music also cited TikTok’s lacklustre handling of AI-generated content rights and issues of hate speech against artists as important reasons for the failed contract renewal.