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Universal Music Group and TikTok just ended their three-month dispute. On Thursday, the label and the social platform struck a “multidimensional licensing agreement” that will see music from UMG artists including SZA, Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar and Ariana Grande available for use as TikTok audio once again.
Not only will you be able to use music from UMG artists in new videos, but your existing TikToks that were muted because they featured songs from the UMG catalog will now be included.
“This new chapter in our relationship with TikTok focuses on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry and the well-being of the creative community,” UMG Chairman and CEO Lucian Grange said in a statement. Huge stars including Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, Drake and The Beatles were embroiled in the dispute, but their music has now been reinstated on the platform.
It’s been a long three months since TikTok and UMG announced this in early February they failed to reach a new deal. UMG accused TikTok of failing to compensate it fairly for the use of artists’ music, as well as failing to protect its artists from AI or do enough to keep the platform safe. In the interim, a UMG artist, Taylor Swift is back on TikTok with his new double album, signaling that the record label and video-sharing platform are on better terms and potentially close to a deal.
Read more: TikTok is changing the way you discover music. Meet the young creatives who are making it happen
This deal is now a reality and is designed to help UMG’s artists and songwriters reach their full creative and commercial potential. The platform has been a critical promotional tool for musicians in recent years, but also become an important place for creative experimentation and community building. The new start for the pair will allow more than 1 billion TikTok users worldwide to create videos using songs from their favorite artists and discover new music from artists and songwriters.
As part of the new deal, TikTok and UMG say they will also work closely on artist campaigns and new opportunities for artists to make money on the platform. The deal includes protections with respect to generative AIincluding a commitment by TikTok to remove AI-generated music and strengthen artist and songwriter attribution.
While the breakthrough is being celebrated from all quarters, it’s not the end of TikTok’s woes. On April 24, President Joe Biden signed a bill that could lead to TikTok is banned in the US, which will affect more than 100 million US users of the platform. Lawmakers are concerned that TikTok’s China-linked parent company ByteDance could be a national security threat and want it to sell the platform to a company the US approves.
For now, US-based TikTok users have full access to UMG’s platform and library, but TikTok’s broader struggle to prove itself continues.
Editor’s note: CNET used an AI engine to help create several dozen stories that were labeled accordingly. The note you’re reading is attached to articles that deal essentially with the topic of AI, but were created entirely by our expert editors and writers. For more see our AI Policy.
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