TikTok is removing even more songs as music rights battle drags on::TikTok will remove all songs from Universal Music Group as its battle with the label intensifies. The latest purge includes songs written or co-written by UMG artists.
Next month: all songs on tiktok are replaced with that oh no no thing that everyone hates.
from what I’ve read they’ve actually lost a licence for that one, too.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
“We are in the process of carrying out Universal Music Group’s requirement to remove all songs that have been written (or co-written) by a songwriter signed to Universal Music Publishing Group, based on information they have provided,” TikTok writes in a statement on its website.
On Tuesday, Variety reported that TikTok was set to lose even more UMG songs, but it wasn’t clear how many would be affected.
This will also impact artists who aren’t signed to UMG but have publishing deals with the label, including Harry Styles, Steve Lacy, and SZA, according to a report from Rolling Stone.
In early February, TikTok began removing songs from UMG’s most popular artists, including Taylor Swift, Drake, and Olivia Rodrigo, after the two companies failed to renew their music licensing agreement.
UMG claims TikTok tried to “bully” it into reaching an unfair deal that didn’t address the label’s concerns about AI-generated music and artist compensation.
As TikTok creators struggle without access to songs from their favorite artists, YouTube is attempting to court shortform video makers with a new music video remix feature it launched earlier this month, which features songs from UMG’s catalog.
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Let them fight. Maybe it’ll let people discover non-pop music.
