Outings – Leisure – Rihanna, The Weeknd, DJ Snake: Why is the Universal Music group withdrawing from the TikTok platform?

It’s a revolution for one of the most powerful social networks on the planet. A major global leader in the music industry, Universal Music Group (UMG) announced that it is withdrawing its songs from TikTok, following the failure of negotiations with the platform, particularly over the remuneration of artists and songwriters.

In an open letter on Tuesday, Universal said on TikTok “Trying to build a business based on music, without paying the right value for music“. The two sides discussed the terms of a new contract, the current contract is set to expire this Wednesday. But it was not renewed.

Reacted by deciding “TikTok”.It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put its own greed before the interests of its artists“, according to a press release.

In France, of the top 20 albums in 2023, 40% were produced or distributed by Universal.

Negotiations like a showdown between two financial powers that will primarily penalize actors. Universal Music, 28% owned by the Bollory family, is what we call a major in the music industry. A “multinational super-company” that has, over the years and in takeovers, spun off different labels, including artists’ catalogs.

Among the plethora of artists signed to Universal Music, we find The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, Snoop Dogg, K-pop group BTS, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, DJ Snake and The Black Eyed Peas. ‘Them. there main It has branches in more than 60 countries and in all musical genres. It is particularly present in France where we find Universal behind labels such as Barclay, Capitol or Polydor. Of the top 20 albums in 2023 in France, 40% were produced or distributed by Universal. This shows the power of this music industry juggernaut.

One million views on TikTok brings $8

Are the top selling artists on TikTok also popular? According to the rankings published last June, the top 10 musical titles attracted the highest numbers choose There are only two Universal-labeled artists on TikTok, Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj. They are ranked 9th and 10th respectively.

On TikTok, titles that work are also sounds and remixes that create an atmosphere with various trendy content such as pranks, funny videos or tutorials.

So will the disappearance of Universal Catalog from Tiktok have a limited impact on its users? The presence of competing companies like Warner or Sony is an additional argument for TikTok in the war it is fighting against Universal. Especially since sound is essential in the experience of this network: this is the opinion of 88% of the users of the application according to internal statistics.

According to an independent label cited by American media Billboard, one million views on TikTok brings $8, compared to $500 to $2,000 on YouTube, which is generally considered the worst payer of GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft). Worse still, that $8 figure would be on the high side, and according to Billboard, TikTok’s revenue could actually be 500 times less than traditional streaming services. Major record labels receive royalties from streaming platforms and social media.

The presence of a large number of AI-generated recordings on TikTok has troubled Universal Music

A fact that certainly comes to mind in recent negotiations. Among the issues raised during the negotiations were “appropriate compensation“For artists and songwriters, online safety for users, as well as protecting artists against harm from artificial intelligence, adds the letter from Universal Music Group.

But as negotiations progress, “TikTok tried to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, which is below fair market value and doesn’t reflect its exponential growth.” Universal said.

Universal, however, said that TikTok is offering to pay “A rate that is only a fraction of the rate paid by a major platform in the same situation“

Calling Universal’s statements “wrong“, Chinese platform believes record company holds”Chose away from the powerful support of a platform with over a billion users and serve as a free promotion and discovery vehicle for their talent.

Although TikTok has a large number of users, it represents only about 1% of Universal’s total revenue, UMG further criticized in its letter.

Universal notes other issues such as the presence of a large number of AI-generated recordings on the platform.

FYI, Tiktok users can only use 60 seconds of music while creating videos and do not have access to all songs.

Universal Music artists are scheduled to disappear on January 31. As the current contract expires on this date, the disappearance of the UMG-branded title should happen in the coming days. Until a favorable outcome is reached between the two parties.