Universal starts pulling out music of artists like Taylor Swift, Drake from TikTok after talks fail

The music of Taylor Swift, Drake and Olivia Rodrigo will not be available on TikTok anymore and music label Universal Music Group has started removing the music catalogues of several performers that the label represents from the platform. The move comes after negotiations to renew licensing agreements broke down between the two platforms. The previous licensing agreement between UMG and TikTok expired on January 31.

Videos featuring UMG-owned songs will be muted, and users will have the option to choose a new song to soundtrack their content. This means TikTok users will have to find alternatives to songs of Taylor Swift, Drake and Bob Dylan. The platform has over 1 billion subscribers.

TikTok has grown into one of the most powerful forces in the music industry over the last few years. It’s one of just a few companies which help make songs go viral, and record labels rely on the app to identify new artists and promote their work. It is also a source for listeners to like and listen to new songs and new artists.

On Tuesday, UMG accused the video platform of attempting to bully it into accepting a “bad deal” that didn’t soothe the record labels' concerns regarding adequate compensation for artists and songwriters, protections against AI-generated music, and online safety on the platform to protect artists from “hate speech, bigotry, bullying and harassment.”

TikTok responded saying that it was “disappointing” that UMG had “chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users,” and accused the label of putting its “own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.”