Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company, has threatened to remove all of the music it owns from TikTok, unless the streaming platform agrees to more favorable terms.
Universal Music Group has threatened to remove all of the music it owns from TikTok, unless the streaming platform agrees to more favorable terms for its vast catalog.
Negotiations between the social media giant and the world’s largest music company have intensified as they’ve worked to hammer out a new contract, says Tatiana Cirisano, a music industry analyst at Midia Research. The current one expires on Jan. 31, 2024.
“UMG is kind of taking the nuclear option of removing all their music and trying to prove … that TikTok couldn’t exist if it didn’t have their catalog,” she says.
Early Wednesday morning, UMG released what it called “An Open Letter to the Artist And Songwriter Community – Why We Must Call Time Out On TikTok.” The letter, one suspects, is actually for music fans and tech watchdogs as well.
“In our contract renewal discussions, we have been pressing them on three critical issues,” the letter says of TikTok, noting the issues include protection against AI-generated recordings, online safety issues for users and higher compensation for its artists and songwriters.
“With respect to the issue of artist and songwriter compensation,” the letter continues, “TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay.
