Universal Music Group has struck a new deal with TikTok to allow its artists’ music on the video platform again after being embroiled in tense talks for months that resulted in songs from some of the most popular artists being muted and unavailable. “Music is an integral part of the TikTok ecosystem and we are pleased to have found a path forward with Universal Music Group,” TikTok CEO Sou Chew said in a statement. “We are committed to working together to drive value, discovery and promotion for all of UMG’s amazing artists and songwriters, and deepen their ability to grow, connect and engage with the TikTok community.” As part of the agreement, UMG music from artists like Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and The Weeknd will be allowed on the platform again. The deal also includes ecommerce plans through TikTok’s shopping features and a commitment to “protect human artistry” from AI takeover. Specific details on how TikTok will implement such protections haven’t been shared, but the app promises to remove any “unauthorized AI-generated music” and says it will work on better artist attribution measures.”We will work together to make sure that AI tools are developed responsibly to enable a new era of musical creativity and fan engagement while protecting human creativity,” TikTok’s Global Head of Music Business Development Ole Obermann said.UMG’s Chief Digital Officer and EVP Michael Nash sees “great potential” in its new deal with TikTok. But earlier this year, that vision wasn’t quite so rosy. UMG previously alleged that TikTok wasn’t willing to pay the record label’s musicians as much as other social media platforms. It also accused TikTok of pushing AI music-creation tools that could ultimately impact its artists’—and the label’s—bottom line. UMG has taken other steps to fight AI tools beyond TikTok, too, demanding last month that Apple and Spotify stop AI bots and developers from mimicking or replicating copyrighted UMG songs.”TikTok makes little effort to deal with the vast amounts of content on its platform that infringe our artists’ music and it has offered no meaningful solutions to the rising tide of content adjacency issues, let alone the tidal wave of hate speech, bigotry, bullying and harassment on the platform,” the record label previously said in an open letter, alleging TikTok was trying to “intimidate” UMG into the new deal.
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In February, TikTok began removing and muting UMG songs after the initial talks fell apart. Last month, some Taylor Swift songs that UMG distributes returned to the platform after being muted and unavailable for 10 weeks. Variety speculated that Swift may have struck her own separate deal with TikTok despite UMG because Swift owns her master recordings. TikTok wasn’t catching and removing every instance of UMG music uploaded to its platform during the talks, either, with reports that some instances of Ariana Grande songs, for example, could still be heard on TikTok despite the expired contract.US TikTok users may not be able to enjoy UMG music on the app for long, however. President Biden recently signed a bill into law that forces TikTok to either divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance within 270 days or face a total ban in the US. TikTok plans to take legal action to stop the rule before it fully comes into effect, however, and has repeatedly argued that removing TikTok violates Americans’ First Amendment rights.
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