Universal Music removes songs from TikTok

In an open letter, Universal accused TikTok of “trying to build a business based on music without paying fair value to music.” With the existing contract set to expire on Wednesday, the two sides have been discussing the terms of a new deal. But the contract was not renewed.

In a statement, TikTok said it was “sad and disappointed that Universal Music Group put its own greed ahead of the interests of its artists.”

Issues raised during the talks included “appropriate compensation” for artists and songwriters, online safety for users and protecting artists from the harms of artificial intelligence. UMG.

But as negotiations progressed, Universal said, “TikTok tried to bully us into accepting a deal that was worth less than the previous deal, below fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth.”

Major record labels receive royalties from streaming platforms and social media.

However, the giant Universal said that TikTok is offering to pay “only a fraction of what major platforms would pay in similar circumstances”.

Calling Universal's statements “false,” TikTok believes the record company “has chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform that has more than a billion users and serves as a vehicle for free discovery and promotion of their talent.”

UMG further condemned in its letter that while TikTok has a large number of users, it is only 1% of Universal's total revenue.

Universal cites other issues such as the high number of AI-generated posts on the TikTok platform.

Taylor Swift and The Weeknd are among the artists named by Universal.

Owned by the Chinese company Byte Dance, TikTok is one of the most popular social networks in the world, boasting over a billion users.