- Universal Music Group removed its music from TikTok this week after licensing negotiations between the two parties broke down.
- In an open letter, Universal accused TikTok of “trying to build a music-based business without paying a fair price for music.”
- The two sides discussed the terms of a new agreement, but the agreement expired on Wednesday and was not renewed.
Universal Music Group removed the song from TikTok this week after licensing negotiations between the two sides broke down.
According to reports, TikTok confirmed on Thursday that it had removed the song from Universal. new york times.
Music companies on Tuesday threatened to remove their music, including songs by Taylor Swift and The Weeknd, from social media apps after negotiations broke down over issues such as artist compensation.
In an open letter, Universal accused TikTok of “trying to build a music-based business without paying a fair price for music.”
The two sides discussed the terms of a new agreement, but the agreement expired on Wednesday and was not renewed.
Among the issues raised during the talks were adequate compensation for artists and songwriters, online safety for users, and protection of artists from the harms of artificial intelligence, the letter added.
However, as negotiations progressed, Universal said:
“TikTok tried to bully us into accepting a deal that was less valuable than our previous deal, a deal that was well below fair market value and did not reflect our rapid growth.”
Major music companies receive royalty payments from streaming and social media platforms.
But Universal said TikTok offered to pay “a fraction of the fees paid by similarly located major social platforms.”
TikTok said in a statement: “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group put their own desires ahead of the interests of artists.”
Universal's characterization is “false,” the social media giant claims, adding that the label is “walking away from the strong support of a platform with well over 1 billion users that serves as a means of free promotion and discovery for talent.” I chose to do so.”
A person familiar with the matter told AFP that all music licensed by Universal “will be removed from TikTok within a few days starting January 31st.”
TikTok “has deals in place with every other major label and independent label,” a source said.
“TikTok is not a music streaming platform and should not be licensed as such,” the official said, adding that users cannot play full songs on TikTok and that there is a cap on the amount of music that can be included in a video work. He emphasized that the time limit is 60 seconds.
Despite TikTok's large user base, it only accounts for about 1% of Universal's total revenue, the label said.
Universal also cited other issues, such as the large number of AI-generated recordings on its platform, along with a lack of efforts to address copyright infringement of artists' music.
Artists affiliated with Universal's label include Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, and Billie Eilish.
Owned by Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok is one of the world's most popular social media platforms, with more than 1 billion users.
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