Universal Music Group Will Remove Music From TikTok If New Deal Fails

TikTok responded to UMG, insisting that they’re pushing “false narratives.”

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Universal Music Group will remove their music from TikTok if the two entities fail to make a deal. On Tuesday (Jan. 30), UMG released an open letter addressing TikTok and the growing concern over artist royalties. The record company admitted that TikTok had positioned itself as a major tool in helping artists market their art. However, UMG insists that better payouts need to be established for their musicians on the platform. In the letter, the company also alleged that TikTok “attempted to bully them” into accepting below-market value compensation.

“With respect to the issue of artist and songwriter compensation, TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay,” the letter reads. “Today, as an indication of 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, TikTok accounts for only about 1% of our total revenue. Ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.”

The company also pressed the looming issue of AI. UMG accused the social media platform of diluting royalties payout through “generative AI tools.” Universal also alleged that the platform isn’t being proactive on combating “deepfakes” and other content that “infringe” their artist’s music and art.

UMG just called out TikTok.

And they’re pulling their music off the platform tomorrow.

They give 3 reasons:

1) COMPENSATION: TikTok is offering “a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay”.

To put it in perspective:

TikTok paid less to the… pic.twitter.com/BxjxVw2oe3

— Rob Abelow (@AbelowRob) January 31, 2024

“TikTok is allowing the platform to be flooded with AI-generated recordings — as well as developing tools to enable, promote and encourage AI music creation on the platform itself — and then demanding a contractual right which would allow this content to massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists, in a move that is nothing short of sponsoring artist replacement by AI,” the letter continued.

“It has offered no meaningful solutions to the rising tide of content adjacency issues, let alone the tidal wave of hate speech, bigotry, bullying and harassment on the platform… But when we proposed that TikTok takes similar steps as our other platform partners to try to address these issues, it responded first with indifference, and then with intimidation.”

The social media platform issued a statement responding to UMG on Tuesday (Jan. 30). TikTok called out the company, stating they’re putting their “greed” over their artist’s wellbeing. The popular app also insisted that UMG is running with a “false narrative.”

Recording artist Drake performs onstage at the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on September 23, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Winter/Getty Images

“It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters,” the statement reads. “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.”

UMG’s roster includes some of music’s biggest stars such as Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, The Weeknd, Alicia Keys, SZA, Steve Lacy, Drake, J Balvin, Billie Eilish, The Beatles, and more.

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