What did TikTok say in response to UMG’s open letter? Leading music company officially removes artists’ catalog from the short video platform

The world's largest music company, UMG, intends to remove its music from TikTok while it works to reach a new licensing arrangement with the site. On January 30, UMG stated in an open letter to artists and musicians that TikTok was unable to reach a consensus on important matters.

Due to difficulties, including pay disputes and AI concerns, the music firm has decided to discontinue licensing its songs to TikTok as of this Wednesday, January 31. As a result, millions of TikTok videos that feature these songs will be muted.

On the other hand, TikTok refuted UMG's allegations, calling them "false." The video-sharing platform expressed dissatisfaction that the record label put its own financial interests ahead of the needs of its artists. TikTok also said that Universal decided to abandon a network with over a billion users. It added:

“Despite Universal’s false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have 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”.

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UMG decided to remove the artists and their music under their label from TikTok

TikTok refuted Universal's claims (Image via Facebook/TikTok/Universal Music Group)

Negotiations for a new contract covering TikTok and TikTok Music concluded without an agreement and turned into a dispute between TikTok and UMG. After failing to come to a new arrangement with TikTok, Universal Music Group has decided to cease licensing its artists' work on the social media platform.

In an open letter, the music giant criticized TikTok's actions and asserted that the platform didn't care about the creators' and users' best interests.

Universal Music Group's letter also advocated for more pay for songwriters and artists. As per its official website, the letter addresses reads:

“In our contract renewal discussions, we have been pressing them on three critical issues—appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.”

Despite TikTok's explosive growth, UMG further claimed that the platform pays its artists and songwriters far less than other big social media platforms, noting that TikTok only accounts for 1% of the company's overall revenue.

In addition, UMG expressed concern over TikTok's uneven content moderation in light of "the tidal wave of hate speech, bigotry, bullying and harassment on the platform," which has an impact on its artists.

Universal also claimed that TikTok removed music from some new musicians while keeping worldwide icons to "bully" and "intimidate" them into signing a less valuable deal.

“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,” UMG's open letter read.

Meanwhile, TikTok didn’t shy away from refuting these claims. According to the Music Network, it replied via an official statement addressing the claims and the removal.

“It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters,” the video sharing platform said.

It added:

“TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans”.

It referred to Universal's decision as "self-serving" in light of its choice to leave a "powerful" platform with over a billion users. It went even further, charging UMG of lying and "greed.”

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Universal represents some of the biggest names in music, including Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, Billie Eilish, SZA, Taylor Swift, and Ariana Grande. The albums by BTS, Olivia Rodrigo, Drake, Bad Bunny, and The Weeknd, to mention a few, will also be impacted due to this licensing deal negotiations.