As of February 1, the catalogue of Universal Music Group (UMG) is no longer available on the TikTok platform. UMG is the world’s largest music company and holds the rights to many artists such as Taylor Swift and Drake. In the lead-up of the expiry of the previous licensing agreement, negotiations for a new agreement over TikTok’s ability to use the copyrighted material collapsed, in quite a public and dramatic way.
Both Universal Music Group and TikTok published public statements on the matter on January 30, 2024. The statements are quite notable for the harsh and vindictive language used publicly by both parties. UMG’s statement is quite long, and outlines a list of grievances, believing that TikTok is using “intimidation and threats” to meet their goals. On the other hand, TikTok’s statement is even more emotionally charged, quite concise and calls out UMG’s “greed” and use of “false narrative and rhetoric”.
As TikTok is no longer legally allowed to use any of the copyrighted material from UMG’s catalogue, all those songs have been removed from the music library available to TikTok users, and existing clips using such audio has been muted.
Learn more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/01/arts/music/tiktok-universal-music-explained.html
Communications Law