Say goodbye to the days of randomly knowing Taylor Swift songs you’ve never actually listened to before but were repeatedly subjected to on TikTok. Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s biggest record label, has removed their artists’ music from the video-sharing app TikTok after their licensing agreement expired on Wednesday (31 January), and the two companies failed to agree on a new licensing agreement.

As of today, any TikTok videos featuring UMG-owned music will be muted, meaning users will have to find alternatives to their favourite songs from the likes of Billie Eilish, Drake, Harry Styles and The Beatles. Since the app first launched in 2016, TikTok has transformed the music industry. As Business Insider reported in 2022, “TikTok is an essential promotional tool for music artists and record labels. Songs that trend on TikTok often end up charging on the Billboard 100 or Spotify Viral 50.” Additionally, TikTok’s own Music Impact Report from last year found that TikTok users are significantly more likely to discover and share new music content on TikTok than on any other short-form video platform (SFV). However, TikTok’s monopoly on the industry has ruffled feathers in the past, as they have been known to overstep business lines and directly contact artists with deals and contracts rather than through their record labels.

With this new shift on one of the world’s largest social media platforms, here’s a brief explainer of what is happening between TikTok and UMG.

WHY ARE UMG AND TIKTOK FIGHTING? 

Money is a huge point of contention between the two companies. 

On Tuesday (30 January), UMG released an open letter to the artist and songwriter community on “Why We Must Call Time Out On TikTok.” In the letter, they explained that in their contract renewal discussions with TikTok, UMG pressed the issue of “appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters”, as they allege that TikTok accounts for “only one per cent” of their total revenue. 

As the negotiations continued, UMG asserted that TikTok attempted to bully them into accepting a deal “worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth.” 

In response, TikTok released a statement, accusing UMG of spreading “a false narrative and rhetoric” and charged them with putting “their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters”. 

WHAT DOES AI HAVE TO DO WITH THIS? 

Another crucial problem that UMG claims TikTok failed to address is the issue of AI. In their statement, UMG argued that TikTok is developing tools to “enable, promote and encourage AI music creation”, which would “allow this content to massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists.” They end this section of their letter accusing TikTok of “sponsoring artist replacement by AI.”

TikTok denies this accusation, writing in their statement that UMG is the only label and publisher that they have not been able to reach an artist-first agreement, which highlights that UMG’s actions are “self-serving” and “not in the best interest of artist, songwriters and fans.”

WHAT MUSIC CAN YOU USE ON TIKTOK NOW? 

UMG’s power over popular music cannot be exaggerated. The multinational music corporation owns the rights to artists such as SZA, Steve Lacy, Rosalía, the Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Adele, Post Malone and more. So, all of our favourite popular music is off the app. While this might be upsetting to fans of these artists, it might be a positive development for independent artists, whose music TikTok users will now have to rely on when posting content. 

WILL UMG’S ARTISTS’ EVER RETURN TO TIKTOK?

We’re not sure. After each company’s fiery statements towards the other, it’s clear that neither is budging on their position. For now, only time will tell.