UMG's recorded music catalogue of approximately 3 million songs were already unlicensed for TikTok. If a new deal is not signed by the end of February, a further 4 million songs from the Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) will be taken off the platform. An estimated third of the US's top 50 tracks on the platform have become unavailable including Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Murder on the Dance Floor which has made a resurgence on the platform as a result of Saltburn (2023).
If a new deal is not signed by the end of February, a further 4 million songs from the Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) will be taken off the platform
UMG has stated the decision is due to TikTok offering to pay a fraction of the rate other social platforms offer. In response, TikTok has said that Universal is putting “their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.” Primary Wave, Downtown, Hipgnosis and the National Music Publisher's Association have all publicly backed UMG in the past few weeks.
Musicians and content creators alike have spoken out about the decision. Jack Antonoff, who won Producer of the Year at the Grammys, said to reporters: "I think it’s ass-backward, and at the very least we should have known."
Lars Gummer, dancer and content creator, told The Daily Beast that "Most of my friends in LA are content creators, especially dance creators. So immediately we all were angry about the decision made between UMG and TikTok."
The removal of music also affected the editing community who make fan-cams of celebrities or fictional characters in television or movies. Amusingly they have resorted to using music that is in the public domain such as classical music or music from Nintendo Wii.
Digital activist Cory Doctorow told Sean Rameswaram, host of Today, Explained, that TikTok and other companies "don't have to care" about the disruption they cause to creators and users. He has coined the phrase "enshittification" which describes how digital platforms lure customers in promising them an experience they cannot get elsewhere then making it worse down the line to better serve the company and its business partners. This process can be applied across all platforms that involve streaming of music, television shows or films.
He has coined the phrase "enshittification" which describes how digital platforms lure customers in promising them an experience they cannot get elsewhere
With humble origins as musical.ly, TikTok is fundamentally built upon using music. Unlike other social platforms where users can post without music, TikTok always has some form of background music no matter whether users are posting a static slideshow or participating in a viral dance trend. TikTok's rise to popularity has seen a shift in the marketing and making of new music with artists seeking to make the next viral sound. It would be unsurprising if other production groups renegotiate with TikTok and demand a fairer cut.
