JT is urging fans to use unofficial versions of her upcoming single on TikTok, despite Universal Music Group (UMG) banning their music from the platform. The ban was announced in January, with Universal citing unfair compensation for artists and the harmful effects of A.I. TikTok confirmed it would remove songs from songwriters signed with Universal Music Publishing Group. City Girls member JT, who is signed to Motown Records, also a subsidiary of UMG, is releasing “Okay” on April 19th. Ahead of the release, she has urged fans on Twitter to promote the song on TikTok, as UMG’s ongoing dispute with the app will prevent her from uploading the official audio.
“Remember I’m with UMG so once song is out Tik Tok will be muted so try to get a distorted sound going. I have one on my Tik Tok use it if you want or make your own. IDC just spread the sound,” JT tweeted. “Okay” is JT’s third single to date and is expected to feature on her upcoming solo mixtape, “City Cinderella.”
Although JT seems to be the first artist to overtly defy UMG’s decision to remove their catalogue from TikTok, others signed to the label still manage to share their music on the app. Olivia Rodrigo has posted videos of her singing along to songs from her latest album “Guts,” including one where she promotes a fan upload of “Obsessed.”
Other artists signed to the label who have been affected by UMG’s decision include Bad Bunny, The Weeknd, Drake, Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, Adele, Coldplay, J Balvin, Post Malone, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. At the time, UMG explained its licensing agreement with TikTok expired on January 31, and negotiations to renew the contract had fallen short.
UMG stated that they pushed for “three critical issues” while renegotiating their contract with TikTok: “the appropriate compensation for [their] artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of A.I., and online safety for TikTok’s users.” The label also believed that “TikTok is trying to build a music-based business without paying fair value for the music.”
TikTok, in response to UMG, accused the publisher of pushing a “false narrative and rhetoric” and for putting its “own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.” They noted that UMG had “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.
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