Universal Music Group (UMG) has now announced that their agreement with TikTok will expire on January 31, 2024, and will not be renewed for the time being. In parallel, UMG will end their content licensing to TikTok and also TikTok Music.
For information, UMG is the label holder for a number of artists and music, including Siti Nurhaliza, Joe Flizzow, P Ramlee, Ella, Dewa 19, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, SZA, Drake, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Adele, and Coldplay.
Through UMG's partnership, they also stated that TikTok does not agree to pay the same value as other social platforms. Today, UMG states that revenue from TikTok is only around 1% of the company's revenue.
UMG also stated that TikTok is acting like a bully by paying less than before, while at the same time removing some music from new artists.
For now, TikTok has not issued any official comment regarding this matter. It can be said that music plays one of the most important roles on TikTok - where at the same time many people also get to know a new music or song through TikTok. We are likely to see the two sides discuss further and reach an agreement in the coming weeks or months.