Removal of Universal Music Group songs from TikTok
2024 dispute over music / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On February 1, 2024, songs made by artists of the Universal Music Group (UMG) were either muted or deleted on the social media platform TikTok.[1]
Two days prior, UMG had published an open letter titled “Why we must call Time Out on TikTok,"[2] accusing TikTok of unsatisfactory compensation for music rights and of A.I.-generated music that UMG claims to have diluted the royalty pool for human artists.[3] TikTok disagreed, stating that their platform "serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle" for UMG artists.[4] The two companies' agreement expired on January 31, 2024.[5]
Many prominent artists had their music removed, such as Taylor Swift, Drake, and Olivia Rodrigo.[6] Some of the artists' own posts on TikTok were also muted.[7] In a surprise move, Taylor Swift's owned catalogue returned to the platform on April 11, 2024.[8]