Following a battle between TikTok and Universal Music Group (UMG), the biggest music company in the world has decided to revoke its licenses to their songs on the popular social media app. On Jan. 30, one day before the end of their contract, the music group released a public statement titled “An Open Letter to the Artist and Songwriter Community — Why We Must Call Time Out on TikTok.” UMG claims TikTok did not provide a fair royalty rate in the proposed contract renewal and failed to address their concerns about music generated by artificial intelligence. Because of the two companies’ inability to reach an agreement, UMG revoked its licenses and, on Feb. 1, TikTok began removing access to the group’s music on their app.
UMG, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment are the biggest music conglomerates across the globe, and UMG is the largest of the three. The worldwide group has an impressive catalog of artists, spanning from indie to K-pop. Because of this decision by UMG, not only are users unable to create new videos with the group’s signed artists, but old videos using their music are now missing the sound backing them. Regardless of your music tastes, the end of their contract with TikTok will definitely affect your saved folder of edits.
UMG claims that a large reason behind ending its contract with TikTok was to ensure “appropriate compensation for [their] artists and songwriters.” However, when artists are unable to use their own songs on one of the largest social media platforms, can UMG truly claim they are trying to protect their talent rather than their profits? While TikTok is not an entirely music-based platform, it is difficult to deny the influence the app has on the modern music industry. Songs that become popular are streamed more outside of TikTok. Many record labels push their artists to heavily promote on TikTok more than other apps. TikTok has fundamentally changed the way artists procure streams and, subsequently, profit.
Larger artists signed by the company, such as Taylor Swift and Drake, will most likely not be directly impacted by this change, except for the expected disappointment from fans unable to access their favorite artist’s music on TikTok. However, in reality, this move will most definitely impact smaller artists who rely on TikTok to advertise their music. UMG’s blatant lack of consideration for their less popular artists is yet another example and reminder of the prioritization of profits over all else. Without TikTok, UMG artists without an established fan base will struggle to boost streams; they can no longer access one of the largest and most influential advertising platforms of the modern age.
UMG’s claim to fight for their artists is honestly quite laughable. Maybe they are fighting for their top earners, but forcibly removing an integral marketing platform for smaller artists is only selfishly motivated. If they truly cared about protecting their artists, they would give back music rights to creators. UMG is failing to recognize that many small artists owe their success to a viral TikTok post. With this change, it is possible that artists may attempt to renegotiate their own contracts with UMG or even leave the label as a whole.
The company claims that the consequences their artists may face due to this change will be “near-term.” However, the influence of TikTok is not slowing down any time soon. Additionally, no other social media platform can compete with TikTok in terms of the sheer number of posts that contain music. There are many unanswered questions about how this will impact the music industry. Will artists not signed to UMG overtake their UMG-signed peers? How will artists’ profits actually change? Will Sony and Warner follow suit once their respective contracts with TikTok end?
Unfortunately, this approach is a shift back to outdated marketing, distancing UMG from the next generation of artists and fans. Moving from content-based platforms to streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube is a step in the wrong direction. These platforms, in competition with TikTok, have become secondary destinations for the average listener. TikTok is a platform centered around fan-to-artist connection; the first exposure to any given song or artist often happens on the app. This move by UMG allowed the company to put a stop to the increasingly TikTok-centered music industry, effectively drawing a line in the sand. However, if other labels do not follow suit or TikTok does not renegotiate a contract with UMG, the only thing the music conglomerate has done is harm their artists and alienate fans.
Cailee Zeraat, FCRH ’25, is an English major from Fairfax, Va.
