Universal Music Group is one of the three big record labels in the whole wide world along with Warner Music Group and Sony Music. The group not only has numerous artists signed under its Universal Music Publishing Group, but also owns dozens of record labels including Capitol, Republic Records, Interscope Geffen, and many more.
Having a plethora of A-list artists under its labels such as Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and BTS, its recent breakup with TikTok will not only affect the artists under Universal Music Group Publishing but also artists spread across its various record labels.
Major Artists And Musicians Under Universal Music Group As It Breaks Up With TikTok
In a big setback for fans of artists signed under Universal Music Group, the music juggernaut will be taking all their artists’ music off TikTok (via Billboard). As per the revelation, one of the biggest music companies and one of the biggest social media sites failed to reach a fair deal over the compensation to their artists and protection against AI-generated content.
As its revolutionary deal of 2021 with the social media giant TikTok (via Variety) is set to expire on 31 January, UMG has announced it will not be renewing its contract and will stop licensing content to the app. Furthermore, its move to pull all its artists’ songs from the platform will lead to disastrous consequences as fans allege (via X).
As of now, Universal Music Group and its numerous record labels are signed with some of the biggest musical sensations in the whole world, some of them are as follows:
- Taylor Swift
- Harry Styles
- Nicki Minaj
- Drake
- Ariana Grande
- Elton John
- BTS
- Justin Bieber
- Coldplay
- Eminem
- Adele
- Billie Eilish
- Stray Kids
- Post Malone
- The Weeknd
- Selena Gomez
- Conan Gray
- Twice
- Tomorrow X Together
- Lady Gaga
- Lana Del Rey
Owned by the Chinese conglomerate ByteDance, TikTok is vital when it comes to promotion and marketing for both artists and record labels (see Business Insider). A music company as big as UMG leaving the platform is a big blow to its business as well as reputation.
TikTok Allegedly Tried To Bully UMG Into Signing An Alleged Unfair Deal
As per Universal Music Group, the social media giant TikTok had tried to bully the music company into signing a new deal with them, a deal that would have been allegedly less worth than the one they had signed previously in 2021. After refusing to renew their contract or licensing content to the app, UMG stated (via Variety),
“The companies have not agreed to terms for a new agreement and upon expiration of the current agreement, Universal Music Group, including Universal Music Publishing Group, will cease licensing content to TikTok and TikTok Music services.”
In response, TikTok released a counterstatement, expressing their disappointment over the music juggernaut allegedly putting their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters. Holding UMG at fault, the platform pitched itself as a promotional and discovery vehicle, with artist-first agreements with every other label and publisher.
However, on Tuesday, UMG went ahead to post an open letter on the issue and held the platform at fault for not being fair when it comes to rightful compensation to the artist and protecting artists against AI-generated content ‘flooding‘ their platform. Furthermore, the company even held the platform responsible for not giving meaningful solutions to tidal wave of hate speech, bigotry, bullying, and harassment on the platform.
As the TikTok vs Universal Music Group war rages on, it will be worth watching if other music companies like Sony and Warner will follow UMG or continue with the platform.
