Ariana Grande, Adele and Rihanna will soon be back on TikTok, joining Taylor Swift after a deal with Universal Music Group ended a dispute that led to one of the world's biggest record labels pulling their music from the video platform.
The licensing agreement, announced on Wednesday (1st), means that within two weeks, TikTok's more than 1 billion users will be able to use music from UMG artists in their videos. All videos featuring music from Universal artists who were previously muted due to copyright violations will be unmuted.
Michael Nash, chief digital officer at UMG, said the new partnership was “based on significant advances in commercial and marketing opportunities, as well as the protections offered to our industry-leading roster on its platform.”
The companies did not disclose financial details, but said the deal will provide “enhanced compensation for UMG's songwriters and artists,” including through TikTok's “integrated box office capabilities,” “growing e-commerce capabilities,” and a tool that allows users to add music from TikTok videos to their favorite music apps.
“We are pleased to find a path forward with Universal Music Group,” TikTok CEO Shou Chew said in a joint statement.
“We think this announcement is clearly positive for UMG,” wrote analysts at Universal Business Systems (UBS) in a note this Thursday (2).
They added that, under a “conservative assumption”, the new deal could double Universal’s revenue from TikTok to €200 million (about R$1.1 trillion), which corresponds to 2% of the company’s total revenue.
Universal pulled its music from TikTok in February after the two companies were unable to reach an agreement on royalty rates for Universal artists, which also include Lady Gaga, Coldplay and Justin Bieber. At the time, Universal accused TikTok of “trying to build a business based on music without paying a fair value for music.”
The company also criticized TikTok's push for AI-generated recordings, which it said would “massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists.”
Under the terms of the new agreement, the companies committed to “working together to ensure that the development of AI across the music industry protects human art and the economy that flows to these artists and songwriters.”
“TikTok is also committed to working with UMG to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform, as well as (working on) tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution,” the statement added.
Last month, Taylor Swift's songs resurfaced on TikTok ahead of the release of her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” although the two companies did not disclose under what terms.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
