TikTok is the place for all sorts of content, but you won't be able to spend hours on the platform without coming across at least one fancam edit or thirst trap of famous actors. That part of TikTok will never be the same, or at least until the Universal Music Group song library is back.
TikTok Edits Turning Silent
Music plays a huge part in video edits as they set the mood, and it definitely feels like it lacks something now that some of our favorite viral tracks on the platform. This is due to TikTok failing to renew its licensing rights with Universal Music Group (UMG).
In case you don't know, TikTok doesn't just use music freely. They have to reach deals with distributors and labels to be able to use the music that they have the rights to. This way, the artists and the labels will receive royalties for having their content used.
Since the short-form video platform did not sort things out with UMG, countless songs were removed from the platform, which includes music from artists like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, Rihanna, and more.
Video edits with background music are popular in TikTok. After all, dance trends to these songs are part of the reason why the platform skyrocketed in popularity. As mentioned in The Verge, UMG expects TikTok to come to the music company with a better deal.
For TikTok, this could be a concerning change, especially since Universal Music Group's library provided almost four million songs to be used on the platform. In addition to that, it also held many pop songs that are easily recognizable and would rack up views from fans of the artists.
Some of the removed songs you might recognize on TikTok trends include "Anti-Hero" by Taylor Swift, "Never Forget You" by Noisettes, "Bloody Mary" by Lady Gaga, "Come Get Her" by Rae Sremmurd, and many more.
Read also: The Death of TikTok Fan Edits: How the Universal-TikTok Fallout Killed a Whole Online Community
TikTok's Influence on the Music Industry
You could say that TikTok has had a huge impact on how people discover and consume music nowadays, which is true. A lot of top music charts are full of songs that were released years ago and were only revived because of TikTok trends.
However, that's not to say that music label giants like Universal Music Group need platforms like TikTok. After all, it already had several successful artists under its belt even before TikTok was even released, so it's safe to say that the video platform needs the label more.
It's still undeniable that the app is instrumental to some artists' rise to fame. For instance, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, and Dove Cameron started their music careers on TikTok, as per the University of Colorado Boulder.
Through memes, fancams, and just random trends, people found that they could discover good music on the app. A study even showed that 75% of TikTok users discover new artists on the app after one of their songs became viral.
