Universal Music takes its music off TikTok. What are the consequences for producers?

According to Universal, TikTok only contributes around one per cent of the label's annual revenue despite significant growth. TikTok's business is based on music, more than any other social media platform, but TikTok "doesn't want to pay a fair price for the music". The proposed deal is "far from the market value" of the songs and a fraction of what other platforms pay.

AI music has become a point of contention. "TikTok is allowing the platform to be flooded with AI-generated tracks and is developing tools to enable and encourage AI music production on the platform itself", Universal wrote. This dilutes the royalty pool for human artists.

Just a temporary "time out"?

TikTok countered the attack with a statement: "Universal is putting its own greed above the interests of music creators. They are leaving a powerful platform that offers their artists free advertising. Furthermore, they have reached an agreement with "all other labels". TikTok has had a significant impact on music consumption around the globe. Many of the most successful songs of recent years owe their popularity to viral video trends on TikTok, with even older songs becoming mega-hits, such as "Murder on the Dancefloor" by Sophie Ellis-Bextor or "Makeba" by Jain.

On social media, posts are usually accompanied by some kind of mood music, which is increasingly available licence-free and is even created using AI. The music industry is under pressure to make money on social media – which has recently been the strongest growth sector for labels. Universal is therefore hesitant to pull out of TikTok for good. How long the superstars' music may not be available depends on whether a deal is finalised after all.