TikTok removes all songs associated with Universal Music

Tracks written by songwriters under contract with Universal will disappear from the platform.

Here's What We Know

TikTok and Universal Music Group (UMG) have found themselves in a copyright battle. This conflict started when the two companies couldn't agree on royalty payments. This resulted in a problem called "split copyrights." The idea is that if even one author affiliated with Universal Music ever contributed to a song, it must be removed from TikTok.

In early February, Universal Music removed the catalogues of well-known artists such as Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and Billy Eilish from TikTok. In response, the platform began removing UMG-related songs. However, it wasn't just the music that was affected, but also the content creators. Even artists signed to Universal can't promote their own music.

On their social media accounts, TikTok representatives said they are in the process of complying with UMG's demands to remove all songs that were written (or co-written) by artists signed to Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).

According to TikTok, only 30 per cent of popular songs on the platform were affected. However, some experts warn that more than 80 per cent of available songs could be removed. Universal Music has already removed around three million of its songs from TikTok, with another four million songs on the verge of being removed.

Source: BBC