The negotiations broke down, but the corporation delivered on its promise.
Universal Music Group (UMG) has begun removing the portfolios of the artists that it represents, including Taylor Swift, Drake, Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, and others. This comes after the company threatened to do so earlier this week. Certain musicians that are considered to be among the most famous in the world no longer have any tracks listed in their profiles.
Additionally, moving ahead, the music that is featured in TikTok videos will be muted, which will require the makers to replace the tracks with selections from other music companies. Taking into consideration the vast quantity of lip-sync films that are scattered around the social network, this will not be a simple task for many of them.
When considering the fact that TikTok is a valuable marketing channel for Universal’s artists, this action on the part of Universal is quite harsh. On the other hand, Universal Music Group (UMG) possesses a considerable amount of power due to the fact that it is the largest record label in the world and is home to some of the most well-known performers. In either case, it is a blow to the platform’s users as well as the founders of the platform.
TikTok wanted to pay a “fraction” of the rate that other social media sites pay, according to a statement that Universal had made in the past: “As our negotiations continued, TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, which was significantly less than fair market value and did not reflect their exponential growth.”
In response, TikTok stated that it presents artists and publishers with an opportunity to benefit from its marketing capabilities. “Despite Universal’s false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.”