TikTok to Remove More Songs Amid Universal Music Group Row

Facts

• Amid an ongoing dispute with the Universal Music Group (UMG) record label, social media platform TikTok is set to purge thousands of popular songs made by artists signed to UMG.¹
• TikTok began removing songs owned or distributed by UMG last month after its parent company, ByteDance, failed to reach a deal over royalties with the record. TikTok must now remove songs that contain compositions controlled by Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).²
• TikTok says the latest development “means that all songs that have been written (or co-written) by a songwriter signed to [UMPG] must be removed” and all videos featuring the songs must be muted. This would eliminate 20-30% of “popular songs” on TikTok, according to a spokesperson.³
• However, senior industry sources have told Music Business Worldwide (MBW) that “up to 80%” of TikTok’s “relevant repertoire” could be impacted, as more than 4M songs in UMPG’s catalog are set to become unlicensed on March 1.⁴
• The additional cuts to TikTok's catalog are due to “split copyrights,” which give UMPG the rights to any song that its artists have contributed to in any way. This includes songs by artists signed to other labels such as Sony and Warner.⁵
• Both companies have responded to each other in open letters, as TikTok prepares to lose music by popular UMG artists including Adele, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, and many others.⁶

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²TechCrunch, ³NPR Online News, ⁴Music Business Worldwide, ⁵Yahoo News and ⁶Variety.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Grand Valley Lanthorn. UMG deserves kudos for protecting its artists’ work and fighting back against TikTok’s greed. The short-form video platform has become a favorite of hundreds of millions largely due to the music that accompanies many viral videos. However, TikTok only pays a minute fraction for the rights to millions of songs by the world’s most popular artists. TikTok is trying to exploit the work of many artists, both famous and up-and-comers, and it has a moral and legal responsibility to fairly compensate them. TikTok could end its dispute with UMG if it just paid a fair price for music rights.
• Narrative B, as provided by CMU. Universal Music is using its artists as a Trojan Horse for its corporate greed, and it is only depriving fans of the ability to connect with their favorite musicians. Many artists owe their fame to going viral on TikTok, leading them to sign with giant record labels like UMG. Now, UMG wants to remove all of those artists’ work from the most popular short video app in the world. TikTok has been able to reach deals with other leaders in the music industry, whereas Universal is trying to bully its way into getting more money from TikTok. At the end of the day, UMG’s greed is separating artists from fans and limiting the exposure of its artists.

Predictions