Written by Harlie Mast

March 26th, 2024 

     

 

On January 31, artists and TikTok creators at every level joined together in panic as their video’s went silent after a failed agreement to licensing terms between Universal Music Group and the social media platform Tiktok. A New York Times article states that early Thursday morning all music licensed by Universal was removed and soon after videos began to go silent. Both music from recordings and existing videos containing UMG music was muted and became unavailable to users to add to new content. Now on mobile devices muted videos display “sound removed due to copyright restrictions.”

 

     In a recent open letter addressed to the artist and songwriter community, UMG called for a “Time out”, expressing concerns about existing practices and economics within the digital ecosystem, particularly on TikTok. The letter accused Tiktok of attempting to“bully” UMG into a deal that was “ worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth”. UMG emphasized in their open letter the need for a fair and equitable framework that aligned with their “artistic centric mission”, specifically, advocating for fair compensation, online safety, and protecting rights of their artists from the negative impact of AI.  

 

     According to UMG, when these conditions were proposed Tiktok “ responded first with indifference, and then with intimidation.” Claiming the popular short video music app tried to intimidate the company “by selectively removing the music of certain of our developing artists, while keeping on the platform our audience-driving global stars.”

 

     The company ended their cover letter committed to advocating for their artists, “ we have an overriding responsibility to our artists to fight for a new agreement under which they are appropriately compensated for their work, on a platform that respects human creativity, in an environment that is safe for all, and effectively moderated”

 

The dispute between TikTok and UMG underscores broader tension of the power play between platforms and content creators As the negotiations continue, the outcome will not only shape the future of music licensing on TikTok but also set a precedent for how other platforms engage with rights holders in the digital age. In the meantime, TikTok users and creators must adapt to the temporary absence of UMG music, exploring new avenues of creativity and expression while awaiting a resolution to this standoff.