This past week, Universal Music Group (UMG) agreed with TikTok to allow all artists under their label to have their music return to the app. Three months ago, all artists under the Universal Music Group label had their music removed from TikTok due to a licensing dispute between the app and the label. The original dispute happened because UMG said that TikTok was not paying fairly for the music.
Artists under the label include Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Billie Eillish, Lana Del Rey and Justin Bieber. TikTok just announced that they have reached an agreement with UMG that will help UMG’s artists and songwriters achieve their creative and commercial potential.
“I was so upset when I found out that all of the UMG music was being removed from TikTok,” sophomore Elizabeth Fox said. “It was also really annoying to have so many of my videos silenced,”
Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok stated that music is an integral part of the TikTok ecosystem and we are pleased to have found a path forward with Universal Music Group. Both companies said that they were working fast to return UMG’s music to TikTok. They state that this could take from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.
Before the release of her new album The Tortured Poets Department, all of Taylor Swift’s music returned back to TikTok. While she is under UMG, she owns her own masters and was able to strike a deal with TikTok that allowed her music to return to the app according to sophomore Piper Leffert
“I am glad that Taylor’s music was able to return to TikTok,” Leffert said. “I just think that she is too big of an artist to not have her music on one of the most used apps in the world,”
Another thing that UMG and TikTok will work on together is removing unauthorized AI-generated music and covers produced on the app. With the sudden surge of AI technology, Artists are concerned that they will be depicted doing activities they didn’t do or singing songs they did not sing.
TikTok is also facing troubles with the United States government, which threatens to ban TikTok from the United States if they do not give up their Chinese ownership in 180 days. This will also affect the upcoming artists and current ones who boost their music through the platform.
“I hope that everything with the app gets resolved,” Fox said. “For now, I am just happy that so much music is returning back to TikTok.”
