TikTok Swifties have finally been blessed with good news as Taylor Swift‘s music catalog is finally back on TikTok, following UMG removing all their artists’ music from the platform, resulting in chaos as most videos went mute and all the popular songs were removed.
As of now, Swift is the only artist from UMG who will have her music available to use on TikTok. It’s important to note, however, that only the songs that are owned by Swift, as in, all her songs except for the ones featured in ‘Taylor Swift’ and ‘Reputation’ will be available on the app. Many have speculated that this move is in anticipation of Swift’s new album ‘The Tortured Poets Department‘ as TikTok contributes massively in terms of sales and popularity.
Many have protested against this, calling it unfair for UMG to only allow one of their artists to have their music available on TikTok while others remain banned. Many have pointed out that it’s because Taylor owns her masters and hence can choose if her music will be available on a certain platform or not. UMG solely acts as a distributor of her music. The rights are owned by her.
What Was UMG’s Feud With TikTok?
UMG announced the decision in a statement posted on its website on January 30, that they have decided to remove their artists’ music from the platform, outlining a few reasons.
“Appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.” as stated by UMG in this statement, is one of the reasons the company removed its artists’ music from the platform. UMG claims that users bombard TikTok with false recordings, generated by AI from which TikTok extracts royalties, further depriving artists of their money.
It was noted that TikTok pays musicians significantly less than other social media platforms when it comes to compensation, saying, “TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.”
As a response to that, TikTok made a statement and said, “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters. Despite Universal’s false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.”
Following this, all the UMG artists, including Ariana Grande, Bad Bunny, and Drake had their music removed from the app and old videos where their music was used went mute.
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