Starting February 1, songs of artists from Universal Music Group (UMG) are officially out of TikTok, following the expiration of the licensing agreement between the two companies.
Earlier this week, both companies decided not to renew their previous deal citing problems from both ends.
UMG Content Removed From TikTok
In an open letter, UMG explained the obstacles of partnering with TikTok. The music company claimed to have been "bullied" by TikTok into accepting a deal worth less than the previous one.
"TikTok's tactics are obvious: use its platform power to hurt vulnerable artists and try to intimidate us into conceding to a bad deal that undervalues music and shortchanges artists and songwriters as well as their fans," the company wrote.
Following the January 31 deal expiration, songs from popular artists like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Drake, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, and more have been removed from the platform.
In 2021, UMG and TikTok signed a deal that came with an agreement to give fair compensation to artists and songwriters in exchange for legally using the songs on the platform. However, UMG argued that TikTok failed to provide the appropriate compensation for artists leading to the fallout.
TikTok Continues Deals With Other Labels
Meanwhile, TikTok called out UMG for their alleged "false narrative and rhetoric." According to the social media giant, the company was able to reach 'artist-first' agreements with other labels and publishers.
"It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters," the company wrote.
Starting February 1, all music under the UMG will be removed from TikTok's General Music Library. In addition, all videos containing the licensed music will be muted.
Currently, the removal is only effective on recorded music licensed to UMG. If the deal becomes impossible any time soon, TikTok will be forced to pull out all content licensed from the Universal Music Publishing Group catalog as well.
