TikTok users might find more videos with no music as Universal Music Group continues to pull songs out of the platform. Gone are the days when fancams and skits are accompanied by catchy and familiar music from recognized and new artists.
Published Music Being Taken Down
On top of losing music titles that are owned and distributed by Universal Music Group, TikTok just announced that it is removing songs that are published by the music giant as well, which are created by songwriters who are under contract with Universal Music Publishing Group.
In case you don't know, distribution for music companies means that they get to collect revenue from the use of a song as well as providing music to digital platforms, while a publisher simply collects royalties for the songwriters.
With this development, TikTok users can expect way more songs to be affected by the conflict between the social media platform and UMG. Even if the songwriter only contributed to the song, it will still fall under the music that UMG can pull from TikTok.
TikTok released a statement saying that they are in the process of carrying out the removal of all the songs written y a songwriter signed to Universal Music Publishing Group, based on the information they provided, as reported by Engadget.
That means that all the artists who have collaborated with those under contract with UMPG will find their music removed from the platform as well, which can be problematic for some as TikTok has become a massive contributor to music popularity and trends.
The company also expressed that UMG's actions "not only affect the songwriters and artists that they represent, but now also impact many artists and songwriters not signed to universal." Even now, TikTok is still hoping for an "equitable agreement" with the music company.
Currently, around three million songs have already been removed from TikTok ever since its contract with Universal Music Group has expired. Of course, the music company will do fine without the platform, but TikTok might not do as well without the popular songs its users often add to videos.
TikTok's Contribution to the Music Industry
It's hard to deny that the short-form video app has had a huge impact on how music is consumed and discovered. A lot of songs on top charts are thanks to it being associated with trends within the platform.
Some artists would even say that they owe their careers to TikTok. For instance, Tyler Colon more known as Tai Verdes, was discovered on the app. "I saw other people like me that had no following end up on the radio," the artists said.
As reported by NPR, Tai Verdes ended up getting calls from presidents of record labels after hearing his song "Stuck in the Middle." Other familiar artists that have TikTok to thank for their rise to popularity include Olivia Rodrigo, Lizzo, Doja Cat, and many more.
