TikTok and UMG Settle Dispute, Announce New Licensing Agreement

Music industry giant Universal Music Group (UMG) and wildly popular social media platform TikTok have come to an agreement after months of disputes. In a press release, UMG revealed that it will return its music catalog to TikTok. The multi-business organization previously removed its music from the platform in March following a disagreement regarding compensation for artists and songwriters.

"TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay," stated UMG in January.

UMG was rumored to be moving towards a suit as the company was reportedly sending TikTok "tens of thousands" of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices.

Now, the companies are beginning a "new era of strategic collaboration...built on a shared commitment to help UMG's artists and songwriters achieve their creative and commercial potential."

Chairman and CEO of UMG, Sir Lucian Grainge, said that the new partnership "focuses on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry and the welfare of the creative community."

TikTok will "invest significant resources into building artist-centric tools that will help UMG artists realize their potential on the growing platform." One new feature will be a "Add to Music App" option which will allow users to save a song featured in a TikTok video to their own music library.

UMG wrote that TikTok would also "integrate ticketing capabilities" as well as stronger data and analytical tools.

Ole Obermann, Global Head of Music Business Development at TikTok, stated that the company is "delighted to welcome UMG and UMPG back to TikTok."

UMG and TikTok are working "expeditiously" to return UMG's catalog to the app. Nearly all UMG songs and "sounds," unofficial clips of music, were muted in late January.

Obermann also addressed concerns of protecting artists financially and creatively. He emphasized that TikTok and UMG will work together to guarantee that AI tools are "developed responsibly to enable a new era of music creativity and fan engagement while protecting human creativity."

TikTok also committed itself to working with UMG to remove unauthorized, AI-generated music from the app.

Artificial Intelligence has been a hot topic in the artistic community, with many musicians speaking out about their distaste and fear surrounding the use of AI. In April, the Artists Rights Alliance published a petition and letter signed by over 200 artists.

The letter calls on "AI developers, technology companies, platforms and digital music services to cease the use of artificial intelligence to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists."

Michael Nash, Chief Digital Officer and EVP of UMG, said that UMG sees "great potential" in TikTok and UMG's collaborative effort.

"Developing transformational partnerships with important innovators is critical to UMG's commitment to promoting an environment in which artists and songwriters prospers," he said.

Tags

TikTok, Universal Music Group