By Maddy Yen
On Thursday, February 1, TikTok users woke up to the news that all Universal Music Group (UMG) songs had been wiped from the platform. Artists include Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Olivia Rodrigo, Morgan Wallen, Nicki Minaj, Billie Eilish, Noah Kahan, Post Malone, Lorde, Drake and Ariana Grande to name only a small portion.
Why did Universal Pull Their Artists from TikTok?
So you may be asking: “Why would Universal do this?” Essentially, the two massive companies could not agree regarding negotiations over copyright permissions and royalty terms. This is not the first time big-label corporations have fought over rights with apps and websites. In 2009, Warner Music Group (WMG) was in a nine-month standoff with YouTube where all of the label’s music videos were removed from the site. UMG also sued social media app Triller, claiming it had not paid licensing fees. Thus, major record labels have been and will always be adamant in defending artists’ rights, which boils down to a major problem in the industry currency. Modern licensing contracts and the emergence of artificial intelligence have deeply affected artists making enough money. Spotify, for example, is notable for not paying artists enough money because users no longer have to pay for each song. Spotify pays artists between $0.003 - $0.005 per stream on average and recently changed its policy for royalty payouts.
What This Means for the Music Industry
With that being said, the music business is forever evolving and shifting with modern technology. While UMG is advocating for its artists, are they really? The major issue that has arisen from this feud is that smaller UMG artists have no way to promote their new releases anymore. While TikTok is a social media app, at its core, it is a music app. There is a huge catalog of artists on the app, and almost every video being posted has a song behind it. UMG, being one of the big three record labels, has many company labels, including Interscope, Geffen, Island, Def Jam, Capitol, Motown, Imperial Records, Blue Note, Republic, and their publishing division. So, for example, a smaller artist I came across, Grace Gardner, is signed to Imperial Records. She is releasing an EP in three weeks with no way to promote it on TikTok. So, while it is unfortunate people cannot hear Taylor Swift or Olivia Rodrigo’s songs on the app anymore, it will surely not affect them as much as developing artists.
The Plus Side of this Feud
While I personally don’t think this dispute will last long, there is an upside to this situation. There are a considerable number of artists nowadays who have not signed to any label and therefore operate independently. These artists can be called Indie artists, not the genre, but just the fact of being independent. So, during this time of UMG artists being pulled from the catalog — it opens up space for new and old indie artists to advocate for themselves and their music.
Why This is Relevant to Me
While I am a student here at the University of Oregon, I also have a part-time job at Warner Music Group, one of the other major record labels. I work in their college marketing program called Warner Music U and am a marketing and events rep. While I get to work concerts and host events on campus, the major part of my job is to promote developing artists' releases and tours. We do this through TikTok — working together to push an artist's release and get the sound trending. That being said, if this situation was occurring with WMG, I would be out of a job! There are so many people working behind the scenes, who work to market artists' releases and shows, that are not seen. I have friends who work for an artist doing marketing and social media, and they currently aren’t needed. Furthermore, someone on TikTok popped up on my FYP saying she is a choreographer for a UMG artist, and she is now unable to show her work on the app. All in all, this decision by UMG affects many more people than you would think. Right now, no one knows how long his standoff will last, and what this means for the music industry in the future.