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- Universal Music Group has pulled their songs from TikTok, after licensing negotiations between the two parties broke down this week.
- In an open letter, Universal accused TikTok of "trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music."
- Both sides discussed terms of a new agreement, which expired on Wednesday, with their deal not being renewed.
Universal Music Group has pulled their songs from TikTok, after licensing negotiations between the two parties failed this week.
TikTok confirmed on Thursday that they had removed songs from Universal, according to the New York Times.
The music company warned Tuesday that it would remove its songs, which include those by Taylor Swift and The Weeknd, from the social media app after a breakdown in talks over issues such as the compensation of artists.
In an open letter, Universal accused TikTok of "trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music".
Both sides discussed terms of a new agreement, which expired on Wednesday, with their deal not being renewed.
Among the issues raised in talks were appropriate compensation for artists and songwriters, online safety for users, and the protection of artists from the harms of artificial intelligence, the letter added.
But as negotiations proceeded, Universal said:
Major music companies earn royalty payments from streaming and social media platforms.
Universal said, however, that TikTok proposed paying "a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay."
TikTok said in a statement that it was "sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists."
Calling Universal's characterisations "false," the social media giant said the label had "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."
A person familiar with the matter told AFP that all music licensed by Universal "will be removed from TikTok in the coming days, starting on 31 January."
According to the source, TikTok "has agreements in place with all other major and independent labels."
"TikTok is not a music streaming platform and should not be licensed as such," said the source, stressing that users cannot play full songs on TikTok and are limited to a maximum cap of 60 seconds of music in their video creations.
Despite TikTok's large user base, it accounts for just about one percent of Universal's total revenue, the label said.
Universal noted other problems, such as large numbers of AI-generated recordings on the platform, alongside what it called a lack of effort to deal with infringements on artists' music.
Artists on Universal's labels include Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and Billie Eilish.
Owned by Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms globally, with more than one billion users.
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