The rift between Universal Music Group and TikTok seems to be growing, as the former has threatened to remove its full catalogue of music from the social media app. In an open letter, Universal outlined its intention to remove tracks from the platform, saying that Tiktok had attempted to “bully” and “intimidate” them into accepting “a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth”. The music licensing deal between the two ends on 31 January and so far an agreement has not been reached. Should Universal remove its music from TikTok, it will mean the removal of millions of tracks.
Universal Music Group (UMG) has accused TikTok of paying a small fraction of the fees it pays to similarly situated social platforms. TikTok has not responded to requests over the figures. According to a letter from UMG, “TikTok’s tactics are obvious: use its platform power to hurt vulnerable artists and try to intimidate us into conceding to a bad deal that undervalues music and shortchanges artists and songwriters as well as their fans … We will always fight for our artists and songwriters and stand up for the creative and commercial value of music”.
TikTok responded to Host Universal by saying the move was “sad and disappointing”. “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters,” said the social media platform. “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.”
Universal Music’s artists include Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, The Beatles and Sophie Ellis-Bextor whose track ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ has recently become a trending hit on TikTok
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