TikTok users are in for a rude awakening – especially some big-name musical acts like Drake, Imagine Dragons, and bbno$ who use the platform to promote their songs. Earlier this week a deal struck between the app and Universal Music Group (UMG) came to an end, and the label pulled any and all of its properties following the finale.
It’s not all doom and gloom, while the original tracks might be unavailable, some of those creatives are already hard at work making versions exclusively for the app.
Why did UMG pull all of their music?
It’s not uncommon for big companies to share properties when it suits them; Netflix’s constantly rotating catalog is due to big businesses managing to strike sharing agreements, and TikTok operates much the same way. Negotiations between the companies fell apart after TikTok failed to address UMG’s primary issues of, “appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.”
UMG has said that TikTok’s revenue makes up less than 1% of the music giant’s revenue and took umbrage with the app’s proposed compensation for artists. Likewise, it says TikTok doesn’t do enough to protect its users and points to the app’s record with hate speech, bullying, and harassment. Additionally, UMG cited TikTok’s support of Artificial Intelligence-generated music as a point of contention. The company says AI-generated music poses a risk to human artists; a concern found in many corners of the arts as the likes of Chat GPT and MIDJourney perforate the market.
UMG is one of the three largest music companies operating worldwide and their catalogue of music is vast. The company owns the rights to music produced by Taylor Swift, Elton John, Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Pearl Jam, Jay Chou, Andrea Bocelli, Black Sabbath, Ace of Base, and BTS, to name just a few. With so many artists under one label, the removal of songs is going to be noticeable.
UMG announced that they would be pulling the tunes in January of 2024, and as soon as February hit, the company made good on its promise. By Thursday, February 8, 2024, many popular songs used on the app will disappear.
What does that mean for TikTok users?
Whether this means the videos will be scrubbed from the site or will simply be muted is a decision left to TikTok, according to a UMG spokesperson. So far, artists like Imagine Dragons and bbno$ have responded to the take down by embracing the absurd. Without UMG, even the original creators aren’t allowed to use the songs, leading to some creative work arounds.
Fresh off the take down, rapper bbno$ released a TikTok friendly version of his collaborative song “Edamame.” Though One Republic didn’t remix their 2013 hit “Counting Stars” the band did plug a fan version that went viral. Its important to remember that the UMG takedown isn’t just affecting millionaire singers. Independent artists are struggling with the removal, but plenty are still finding a way to keep things positive. Some independent artists are seeing the move as a blessing in disguise and using the lack of available tunes to push their own tracks.
The average TikTok user is already feeling the pressure as banger after banger gets pulled from the site. While many are joking about the app’s future of generic uncopyrighted tunes, or making their own versions of popular music, others are already frustrated by the lack of diversity.
TikTok is certainly popular enough to weather the blow, but the whole affair brings to mind Don Mclean’s classic anthem, “American Pie.” February might be the month that the music died, but with UMG owning the right to the song, TikTok users will have to find another reference to express their sorrows.