After a breakdown in negotiations, TikTok has removed music from Universal Music Group, leaving some posts on the popular social media platform silent.
On January 30, Universal published an open letter claiming TikTok was not adequately compensating the music company, citing the proliferation of “A.I.-generated recordings” that they say has diluted the pool of royalties available to the original, human artists. In the letter, Universal accused TikTok of being a “bully” while employing intimidating negotiating tactics.
As of Thursday, February 1, music from Universal was being pulled off the platform, according to TikTok, though some recordings were reportedly unaffected. Now, users can no longer use tracks from the music giant when posting on the platform. Existing videos that had used the tunes have now been muted.
For up-and-coming artists like Cody Fry, the incident could not have come at a worse time.
On January 30, Fry’s single “Things You Said” went viral on TikTok’s mainland Chinese counterpart app, Douyin. Unfortunately, the musician’s excitement was extinguished when he read an open letter from his record label just hours later. Universal-owned Decca Records stated that they had not renewed their licensing agreement with TikTok. This meant Fry’s hit song and millions of other tracks from other Universal artists would go silent.
TikTok has since hit back at Universal in its own statement, accusing the music giant of putting “their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.” The social media platform also said that Universal had “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.”
While TikTok users will no longer have access to Universal’s catalog, which includes Taylor Swift and Drake, they can still select tracks belonging to other labels.