Universal Music will remove its music from TikTok to protect “vulnerable artists”
Universal Music Group have shared plans to remove its music from the popular social media platform TikTok. In a statement, it claimed TikTok is using “its platform power to hurt vulnerable artists.”
In response to the news of UMG’s withdrawal, TikTok says it has reached an ‘artist-first’ agreement with other labels and publishers. It also states, “Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.”
The list of artists whose music will be pulled from TikTok is extensive. Their roster includes Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Adele, Drake, Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Post Malone and J Balvin. Another artist whose music won’t be available is Sophie Ellis-Bextor, whose 2001 song ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ has recently gone viral thanks to the critically acclaimed Saltburn.
The statement released by UMG announced that all music will be pulled as of January 31st. Negotiations to renew the contract have fallen short.
“In our contract renewal discussions, we have been pressing [TikTok] on three critical issues,” said Universal, “appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.”
Universal has also claimed that TikTok resorted to intimidation when they suggested the platform “take similar steps as our other partner platforms to try to address these issues.” They said TikTok tried to “bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth.”
Furthermore, elsewhere in the open letter, UMG stated TikTok is responsible for “only about 1% of our total revenue”. They claimed this demonstrates “how little TikTok compensates artists and songwriters, despite its massive and growing user base, rapidly rising advertising revenue and increasing reliance on music-based content.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.