Universal Music Group, one of the world’s largest record labels, announced that it would be withdrawing its songs Tick tock Due to disagreements over a new contract, negotiations began with the Chinese company.
In a statement, the music company said the platform will provide access to songs from artists such as: Taylor SwiftBad Bunny or Rosalía (from Spanish only from their first album).
According to Universal, the Shanghai-based social network is using intimidation and harassment tactics to force acceptance of a less valuable and unfair agreement than the previous agreement (which expired on January 31).
“As our negotiations continued, TikTok attempted to pressure us into agreeing to a deal that was worth less than the previous deal, well below fair market value, and that did not reflect the company’s exponential growth,” UMG said. “How did he try to intimidate us? “We are selectively removing music from some of our up-and-coming artists while keeping our top-rated global stars on the platform.”
Our core mission is simple: we want to help our artists and songwriters reach their greatest creative and commercial potential. That’s why we need to take a break from TikTok.
Learn more: pic.twitter.com/Lhluz1ez5H
—Universal Music Group (@UMG) January 31, 2024
He also revealed that TikTok has proposed paying artists significantly less money for views and usage of their songs than other social media platforms offer.
A discussion that included the topic of AI
UMG also stated that the social network refused to take the necessary measures to protect artists from the “avalanche” of generated content Artificial intelligence and copyright infringement.
“TikTok is attempting to build a business based on music without paying fair value for the music,” the letter said.
Content creators on TikTok, which already has more than 1 billion users, often use songs by popular Universal artists in their videos, and many singles even become popular due to the trends made on the digital platform.
Likewise, several emerging artists are using the social network to promote their music and reach more people as it is easier to make the content viral when users use it in their videos.
What did TikTok say about Universal Music’s move?
TikTok, for its part, refuted UMG’s claims and said it had reached “artist first” agreements with all other music labels and publishers.
“Universal’s selfish actions are clearly not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans,” TikTok said.
Likewise, the Chinese entertainment company said Universal Music puts “its own greed above the interests of its artists and songwriters.”
“It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put its own greed above the interests of its artists and songwriters,” the digital platform said.
Reference image. Photo: Creative Commons
Which artists will stop playing on TikTok after failing to reach an agreement with Universal Music?
Although the list can be quite long, some of the most notable ones represented by the record label include Taylor Swift, Bad bunnyThe Weeknd, Rosalía, Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, J Balvin, U2, Adele, Coldplay and Post Malone.
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