In the absence of an settlement, Universal Music will take away its songs from TikTok | EUROtoday

Published on : 01/31/2024 – 06:13

2 minutes

The world's largest main within the music trade and TikTok have failed to succeed in an settlement. In the absence of an settlement, Universal Music Group (UMG) introduced on Tuesday, January 30, the withdrawal of its songs from the social community, accusing TikTok in an open letter of “trying to build a business based on music, without paying the fair value of music.

The two sides discussed the terms of a new deal, with the existing contract set to expire on Wednesday. But the negotiations failed.

In a statement, TikTok said it was “sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group put its own greed ahead of the interests of its artists.”

Among the issues raised during the negotiations were “applicable compensation” for artists and songwriters, online security for users as well as protecting artists from the harms of artificial intelligence, the UMG letter adds (which notably represents Taylor Swift and The Weeknd).

But as negotiations progressed, “TikTok tried to intimidate us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, well below fair market value and not reflective of their growth exponential,” Universal said.

1% of Universal's turnover

Major record labels receive royalties from streaming platforms and social media. The giant Universal, however, said that TikTok was offering to pay “a price that’s solely a fraction of the speed paid by main platforms in an identical state of affairs.”

Calling Universal's statements “false”, TikTok believes that the record company has “chosen to show away from the highly effective assist of a platform that has greater than a billion customers and which serves as a car for promotion and free discovery for his or her abilities.

Although TikTok has a lot of customers, it solely represents round 1% of Universal's complete income, UMG additional denounced in its letter.

Universal notes different points such because the presence of a lot of AI-generated recordings on the TikTok platform.

With AFP