Universal Music will be pulling down millions of its songs from TikTok after a breakdown in talks over payments. This move would mean that songs by artists including Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, and Drake will no longer be available on the social media application.
As per a report in the BCC, Universal alleged TikTok of “bullying” behavior and said that the latter wanted to pay a “fraction” of the rate other platforms do for access to Universal’s wide catalogue.
This marks the first time that Universal has engaged in a major step of removing its songs from a platform.
Universal holds the rights to the Beatles, Elton John, Coldplay, Adele, BTS, and Blackpink, among others.
It also owns Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’, which has been a recent hit on TikTok.
In reply, TikTok said Universal was presenting a “false narrative and rhetoric”.
Music companies earn royalty payments when their songs are played on streaming and social media platforms.
TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has more than a billion users, and accounts for just 1% of Universal’s total revenue, the label said.
In an “open letter to the artist and songwriter community” Universal – which controls about a third of the world’s music – claimed that “ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music”.
Universal said that along with pushing for “appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters”, they were concerned about “protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users”.
The company said it would stop licensing its content to TikTok when its contract expires on 31 January.
In response, TikTok said: “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,” it added.
In July last year, Warner Music and TikTok struck a new licensing deal.
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