Topline
Universal Music Group and TikTok announced a new licensing deal late on Wednesday, allowing the major label’s song catalog to return to the social media platform and ending a three-month standoff over TikTok’s handling of artist payments and AI-generated content.
UMG and TikTok ended their three-month long impasse and signed a new deal late on Wednesday.
Key Facts
UMG said it is “working expeditiously” to bring back its music catalog and artists back on TikTok “in due course,” but did not say when that would happen.
The label added the “multi-dimensional licensing agreement” will bring “significant industry-leading” benefits, including better pay for the label’s songwriters and artists.
The companies said they are collaborating on new promotional and monetization tools for artists including TikTok’s online shopping and ticket buying features.
The companies will also work together to ensure that any AI development will protect “human artistry and the economics that flow to those artists and songwriters.”
TikTok has also committed to taking down “unauthorized AI-generated music” and improving “artist and songwriter attribution,” as part of the deal.
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Crucial Quote
Ole Obermann, TikTok’s global head of music business development, said: “We will work together [with UMG] to make sure that AI tools are developed responsibly to enable a new era of musical creativity and fan engagement while protecting human creativity.”
Key Background
The new deal ends a standoff between the two companies that began in late January with UMG announcing it would stop licensing its music library to TikTok. In February, all music by UMG artists was pulled from TikTok and older videos featuring the songs were muted. The removed content included songs from several top artists including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Bad Bunny, Drake and Ariana Grande. UMG publicly criticized TikTok at the time, saying its proposed payouts for artists and songwriters were “a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay.” The label also blamed TikTok for allowing its platform to be “flooded with AI-generated recordings” and accused the company of pushing for contracts that would “allow this content to massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists.” However, some popular songs by Swift began reappearing on TikTok last month and the superstar musician also promoted her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” on the platform.
