With Universal Music Group (UMG) running out of royalties, it is being forced to release more music from its platform. Recently UMG it owns or distributes TikTok, including tracks by superstars like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and The Weeknd. The standoff is now affecting songs published by UMG, and millions of songs on TikTok are expected to be muted by the end of this week.
The latest step in this saga affects the works of artists who collaborate with songwriters who have contracts with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). . Due to an issue called split copyright, the track may have to be removed from TikTok if the writer under contract with UMPG contributed in any way to the song. As such, artists who have collaborated with celebrities such as Swift, Adele, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Ice Spice, Elton John, Harry Styles and SZA may see their songs disappear from TikTok and remain muted in videos currently in use. The move will prevent more artists from linking their work to the most important platform for promoting music.
according to , UMG removed nearly three million songs from TikTok after its record catalog deal expired. UMG’s deal with TikTok for its publishing catalog (which includes around four million songs) expires at the end of this week, at which point all relevant tracks may be removed from the short-form video service.
