Universal Music Group and TikTok signed a new licensing agreement Thursday that will allow users of the popular video-sharing app to regain access to songs by Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Adele.
The music giant pulled the stable singer from the Chinese-owned app after the licensing agreement expired in January after the two countries failed to reach an agreement over issues including royalties, AI and online safety for TikTok users. .
Financial terms were not disclosed.
The two sides pledged to work together to capture new monetization opportunities from TikTok’s fast-growing e-commerce business.
The two companies said in a joint statement that they will “cooperate on campaigns that support UMG artists across genres and regions around the world.”
With over 170 million users in the United States and over 1.5 billion users worldwide, TikTok has become a valuable marketing and promotional tool for the music industry.
According to Midia Research, younger users most commonly discover music through the site, ahead of music streaming services such as YouTube and Spotify.
“About a quarter of U.S. consumers say they listen to songs they hear on TikTok,” said Tatiana Sirisano, senior music industry analyst at Midia.
However, Universal Music claimed that its artists and songwriters are only being paid a fraction of what they receive from other major social media platforms.
The music label says TikTok will account for 1% of its annual revenue, or about $110 million, by 2023.
By contrast, YouTube paid out $1.8 billion to the music industry from user-generated content in the 12 months ending June 2022, according to Midia.
Swift, one of Universal Music’s biggest artists, is allowing some of her songs back to TikTok to promote her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” in a move that could hurt her bargaining power. did.
Swift owns the copyright to her recordings through a 2018 deal with Universal, giving her control over where her songs are available.
Licensing negotiations have resumed in recent weeks, but AI remains a key point of contention.
Universal claimed that TikTok is “flooded” with AI-generated recordings, including songs created by users using TikTok’s AI songwriting tools.
In Thursday’s deal, TikTok and Universal said they will work together to ensure AI developments across the music industry protect human artistry and the economies that flow to those artists and songwriters.
“TikTok is also working with UMG to remove unapproved AI-generated music from the platform and develop tools to improve attribution for artists and songwriters,” the statement said. Stated.
