Push Admin

US singer Taylor Swift and Canadian singer-songwriter and actor Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd. Allison Dinner/Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA-EFE 

Article (news)

Universal Music warns it will pull songs from TikTok

Agence-France-Presse

<div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/Taylor-Swift--The-Weeknd- epa 01312024.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="US singer Taylor Swift and Canadian singer-songwriter and actor Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd. Allison Dinner/Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA-EFE"/><span class="fr-inner">US singer Taylor Swift and Canadian singer-songwriter and actor Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd. <em>Allison Dinner/Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA-EFE </em></span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>WASHINGTON — Universal Music Group warned Tuesday that it would pull its songs from TikTok, after a breakdown in talks with the social media platform over issues including the compensation of artists and songwriters.</p><p>In an open letter, Universal accused TikTok of &quot;trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.&quot;</p><p>Both sides have been discussing the terms of a new agreement, with their existing contract set to expire on Wednesday.</p><p>But their deal has not been renewed.</p><p>Among the issues raised in talks were &quot;appropriate compensation&quot; for artists and songwriters, online safety for users, as well as the protection of artists from the harms of artificial intelligence, the letter added.</p><p>But as negotiations proceeded, Universal said, &quot;TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth.&quot;</p><p>Major music companies earn royalty payments from streaming and social media platforms.</p><p>Universal said, however, that TikTok proposed paying &quot;a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay.&quot;</p><p>In a statement TikTok said it was &quot;sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists.&quot;</p><p>Calling Universal&#x27;s characterizations &quot;false,&quot; the social media giant said the label had &quot;chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.&quot;</p><p>Despite TikTok&#x27;s large user base, it accounts for just about one percent of Universal&#x27;s total revenue, the label said.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/life/01/26/24/kwento-ni-marc-logan-netizens-instant-celebs-dahil-sa-tiktok" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kwento ni Marc Logan: Netizens &#x27;instant celebs&#x27; dahil sa TikTok</a></div><p>Universal noted other problems such as large amounts of AI-generated recordings on the platform, alongside what it called a lack of effort to deal with infringements on artists&#x27; music.</p><p>Artists on Universal&#x27;s labels include <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/2024/1/30/taylor-swift-love-affair-sparks-republican-conspiracy-theory-mania-415" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Taylor Swift</a> and <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/03/22/23/the-weeknd-hailed-as-worlds-most-popular-artist" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Weeknd</a>.</p><p>Owned by Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms globally, with more than one billion users.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/01/25/24/tiktok-removes-nearly-4-million-videos-in-ph" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok removes nearly 4 million videos in PH due to violations</a></div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/01/18/24/chinas-tiktok-users-face-punishment-under-points-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">China&#x27;s TikTok users face punishment under points system</a></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P4TctOcJAKw?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>Universal Music Group warned Tuesday that it would pull its songs from TikTok, after a breakdown in talks over including the compensation of artists and songwriters.</p>

Universal Music Group warned Tuesday that it would pull its songs from TikTok, after a breakdown in talks over including the compensation of artists and songwriters.