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Key Takeaways
- Music from Taylor Swift and dozens of other Universal Music Group artists has returned to TikTok after a new licensing agreement that includes better remuneration.
- The previous agreement expired at the end of January, leading UMG to pull its artists’ music from the app.
- UMG accused TikTok of “bullying” in negotiations, and said the company paid a fraction of what other social media platforms pay in royalties.
Music from dozens of the industry’s biggest stars, including Taylor Swift and Harry Styles among others, is available on TikTok again as of Thursday after Universal Music Group (UMG) and TikTok reached a new licensing agreement. The deal includes improved pay and promotions for the recording music giant’s songwriters and artists.
UMG stopped licensing its music to TikTok in February, cutting the social media platform’s access to songs by blockbuster artists due to disagreements over several factors, including compensation for the artists.
“By harnessing TikTok’s best-in-class technology, marketing and promotional capabilities, UMG and TikTok will deliver improved remuneration for UMG’s songwriters and artists, new promotional and engagement opportunities for their recordings and songs and industry-leading protections with respect to generative AI,” the joint statement said.
Negotiations Succeed After Blips
UMG released an open letter when the previous agreement expired at the end of January, accusing TikTok of paying artists a fraction of what other social media platforms pay in royalties, letting artificial intelligence (AI)-generated music flood the app, and failing to protect users from harmful content.
The recording label also then accused TikTok of attempting to “bully” its way through negotiations, claims that TikTok said was a “false narrative.”
The outcome of the TikTok ban that President Joe Biden signed into law last month is still unclear, but for the time being TikTok users in the U.S. will once again be able to use music from UMG’s artists.