The music of well-known artists such as Billie Eilish (22) and Harry Styles (30) can return to TikTok. Their music label Universal Music Group (UMG) has signed a deal with the social media platform.
In February, the music was removed from TikTok because both parties could not reach an agreement. The music label previously stated that TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, did not want to pay a fair price for the music rights. According to TikTok, the accusations were false.
It is not yet clear when exactly the music will return to the platform. But it is obvious that this will happen soon. UMG speaks of a ‘new chapter’ in the relationship with TikTok, which in turn says it is happy to welcome the music label again.
According to a statement, affiliated songwriters and artists will now receive better compensation. Agreements have also been made about promotional opportunities for their music and protection against artificial intelligence (AI). TikTok wants to collaborate with Amsterdam-listed UMG to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform.
Taylor Swift’s music also disappeared from the video app in February. However, a selection of her songs has recently become available again on TikTok. That was possible because Swift can decide where her songs can be heard. Unlike many other artists, she owns the copyrights to her songs.
Swift also dominated the music news for two weeks. Then came her much-discussed new album The Tortured Poets Department released, which suddenly turned out to be a double album shortly after publication:
