New artists removed from TikTok

Songs by Universal Music Publishing Group writers including Harry Styles, SZA and Steve Lacy have been removed from TikTok.

The war between TikTok and Universal Music Group intensified this week: songs written by Universal Music Publishing Group writers began to be removed from the short-form video platform.

The move comes nearly a month after UMG’s recorded catalog was removed from TikTok, with the record label announcing that it had failed to reach a new licensing deal with the platform for its music. As of Tuesday, songs by Bad Bunny, Harry Styles and SZA, among others, no longer appear in search and more videos are now muted.

When UMG announced that it had not reached a new contract with TikTok in late January, the company clarified that the decision affected both its record label and its publishing arm UMPG. The initial withdrawals made at the beginning of the month only concerned titles from artists signed by UMG labels such as Interscope, Republic or Def Jam.

The removal of a publishing company’s catalog is much broader in scope and concerns music from other record companies. Indeed, every piece of music benefits from two copyrights: one for the specific recording of the song (controlled by the labels) and another for the lyrics and composition of the song (controlled by the music publisher). Songwriters can write songs for artists on many labels, so Sony or Warner Records may also be eligible for delisting if a UMPG songwriter wrote or co-wrote the song.

Additionally, some artists do not have a recording contract with UMG, but a publishing contract with UMPG. Harry Styles, Steve Lacy and SZA, for example, are all signed to Columbia and RCA, respectively owned by Sony, but UMPG is their publisher, meaning popular TikTok tracks like “ As it was “,” bad habit “and” kill the bill » have been removed. Bad Bunny is signed to independent label Remus, but also has a publishing deal with UMPG, meaning his music has also been removed.

Representatives for UMG and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment. In its open letter earlier this month, UMG said the main obstacles to reaching a licensing deal were low payments, concerns about the use of AI and concerns about the safety of TikTok users. UMG said TikTok represented about 1% of the company’s record revenue.

Artists themselves are divided on the question. Some admit that given the important role of music on the app, TikTok needs to pay more. Others never saw TikTok as a way to make money, but as a promotional tool, or expressed frustration that the label didn’t consult its artists before removing their music, taking away the most important tool for sharing their songs.

Ethan Millman

Translated by editorial staff