Universal Music threatens TikTok with song withdrawal if artists are not paid more

Universal Music Group (UMG), which works with artists such as Taylor Swift, Lana del Rey, Drake, Billie Eilish, The Weeknd and others, is threatening TikTok remove songs from the platform if the Chinese company does not improve payment terms. The record label published an open letter warning that the contract with the social network ends in January this year and that there is “pressure” on its renewal over other issues.

We repeat that one of the conditions required by UMG is “adequate compensation” for artists and composers. While it’s unclear how much TikTok is paying for the rights to songs distributed by Universal, the record label says the platform is trying to negotiate with them “a rate that is a fraction of the rate that large social platforms would pay in a similar situation.”

Universal Music Group also guarantees that TikTok tried to intimidate them so they will agree to an agreement with a lower value than what they previously had, which is also “less than fair market value and does not reflect their exponential growth,” they say. The label, in particular, claims that TikTok was used as a form of intimidation selective deletion of songs by emerging artistswhile keeping the most popular singers on the platform, which will allow the social network to increase its audience.

On the other hand, UMG guarantees that the income received from TikTok royalties for including songs on the platform They make up only 1% of total income. companies.

UGM says TikTok is sponsoring artist replacements with artificial intelligence

In addition to increasing compensation for artists and songwriters, Universal Music Group also asked TikTok “protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI”. UGM claims that the social network promotes the use of songs created by artificial intelligence. It also “allows the platform to be flooded” with tracks created by artificial intelligence, for which artists receive no compensation. The record label also emphasizes that TikTok is “sponsoring the replacement of artists with artificial intelligence.”

Finally, UGM reports that TikTok makes no effort to remove infringing content music distributed under their label. They also argue that “he has offered no meaningful solutions to the rising tide of content contiguity issues, much less the tide of hate speech, intolerance, bullying and harassment on the platform.” Universal Music Group also stresses that in order to report all of these issues, they will have to do so through a “monumentally cumbersome and inefficient” process.

UGM threatens TikTok delete songs of your artists if the platform does not comply with these conditions, even knowing that it will also harm the user when creating videos or viewing content on the platform. At the moment, TikTok has not commented on this information.