Universal Music removes more songs from TikTok and intensifies its fight against the social network

The battle between TikTok and Universal Music has escalated to a new level. After failing to reach a royalty agreement, Universal Music Group (UMG) took an aggressive stance and removed even more songs from the video platform. This measure will apply not only to music owned by a record label, but also to music that has any connection to the company.

According to a report from Diversity, Universal removed songs from artists who were contracted songwriters. from Universal Music Publishing Group. This will affect artists such as Adele, Metallica, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Harry Styles and others, who will not be able to play their songs on TikTok. The report indicates that some of these singers’ music is not published or distributed under any UMG label. When working with a band composer, company rules apply..

According to sources, English-speaking artists suffer the most. due to the struggle between Universal Music and TikTok, although there are nuances. You may have noticed that your favorite singer’s album is not available on Spotify, but users in other countries can easily listen to it. It’s because Contracts vary by region and there are many people involved in the process..

Thus, the battle must take into account not only country-by-country agreements, but also the participation of employees under contract to Universal Media Group. On the one hand, the music label claims he has majority participation in songs that are reproduced on TikTok either because it owns the rights or because they are distributed. On the other hand, the social network refutes the above and adds that UMG hardly accounts for 20 to 30% of the content.

The fight between TikTok and Universal Music may last longer than you thought

The dispute between TikTok and Universal Music began in early February when the video platform did not renew royalty payments. Considering this, UMG has removed songs from artists such as Taylor Swift, Drake, Lana del Rey and others., so users could not use them. Messages like “this music is currently unavailable” or “sound removed due to copyright restrictions” appeared in several of the videos posted.

Universal accused TikTok of not paying its artists enough and not following guidelines on artificial intelligence and online safety. In reply, TikTok said UMG is a company that puts its greed first the interests of its members.

“Despite Universal’s false statements and rhetoric, the fact is that they have chosen to withdraw the powerful support of a platform with over a billion users that serves as a free means of promoting and discovering their talent,” the company said. networks in an open letter. “TikTok has managed to secure artist-first agreements with all other labels and publishers. It is clear that Universal’s selfish actions are not serving the artists, songwriters or fans.”

According to the report, the fight between TikTok and Universal Group could last several months. The main victims will be users. Not only will they be left without the ability to add videos from their favorite artists, but they will also not be able to discover new music. According to the study, TikTok users are more likely to discover and share music. than the average social media user.