On January 31, TikTok silenced about three million songs by artists signed to the Universal Music Group label – including Taylor Swift – after talks between the two over copyright payments ended as TikTok only wanted to pay a small amount of the rate that other social media sites do for access to Universal’s huge catalogue of music, according to the publisher.
Now, more songs are set to disappear as it will now include writers signed to Universal. This could see songs by singers such as Adele and Harry Styles muted soon.
It could mean that if a songwriter signed to the publishing arm of Universal only had a minor role in the making of a song, working with other writers, the whole song could have to come down. It may also mean it affects artists signed to record labels other than Universal.
TikTok has said that about 30% of what it refers to as ‘popular songs’ could be taken down, although some industry experts have said that it could be as much as 80%.
TikTok’s publishing catalogue deal with Universal runs out at the end of February, so another four million songs are set to disappear from the platform.
This will cause dismay for artists and content creators alike. Creators often add songs to their clips, and it has become a useful way for artists to promote their songs to a wide audience. Indeed, there is even a TikTok Billboard top 50 chart, which is based on the level of user engagement on the platform.
When talks between TikTok and Universal first broke down, there was a war of words. In an open letter, Universal stated: “TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay. Today, as an indication of how little TikTok compensates artists and songwriters, despite its massive and growing user base, rapidly rising advertising revenue and increasing reliance on music-based content, TikTok accounts for only about 1% of our total revenue.
“Ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.”
TikTok hit back in its own statement: “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.”
