TikTok fan edits may soon bid farewell to the platform that fostered several fandoms for years following the failed licensing negotiations between Universal Music Group and TikTok.
Universal Music Group, the record label that handles artists like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, is pulling all of its music from the video-sharing site.
This means all videos using soundtracks under the record label will have the background music starting Feb. 1, Thursday.
The thriving fan edit community will be one of the most affected by these changes. Here's why:
Also Read: Universal Music Group to Pull Out Songs From TikTok Once Deal Expires
Limited Music Choice
The announcement is a hard hit for many fan communities, especially those using Taylor Swift or Olivia Rodrigo songs.
Yes, say goodbye to all the 30 million music using both artists' music because those will be muted now.
From all the fan edits of KPop idols and celebrities to anime and games, all will lose a big portion of why they attract views.
This means content creators will have a more limited song choice they can add to their videos, further restricting its growth in an algorithm that takes into account all the trending songs to recommend.
Goodbye TikTok Songs
Speaking of trends, it can be expected that song trends will take much more time to gain popularity.
Many popular TikTok songs we see today either came from dance trends or fan edits that escaped out of its community.
Users can still use music from independent artists and singers from under different record labels, but so far, only a few have hit mainstream recognition.
Fan Edits a Fandom's Love Language
Fan edits have been a lifeblood for many communities as a way to interact with each other while cheering for their interests.
With the loss of an integral part in making these edits, many content creators could possibly be demotivated.
Many careers and popularity started with fan edits, many of which use popular songs to help their community reach other people.
While it is not impossible to appreciate popular figures to the broad public in other ways, TikTok and fan edits have become too significant for many in these past years that it will be difficult to face the current changes in a platform many communities once called home.
