Universal Music Group Reaches New Licensing Deal With TikTok

Universal Music Group (UMG) and TikTok have reached a new licencing deal less than three months after the former pulled its artist roster from the video-sharing platform.

The joint agreement will see Universal Music Group’s recorded music return to TikTok.

In a press release, TikTok revealed that it’s reached a deal with UMG that will “deliver improved remuneration for UMG’s songwriters and artists, new promotional and engagement opportunities for their recordings and songs and industry-leading protections with respect to generative AI.”

The two companies are working “expeditiously” to bring UMG’s artist roster back to soundtracking your TikTok videos.

Of course, the terms of the agreement between UMG and TikTok have been kept under wraps, but the pair are committed to a plan where they “work together to realise new monetisation opportunities utilising TikTok's growing e-commerce capabilities.”

As well as UMG’s issues with TikTok’s royalty payouts, the record company said of AI on the video streaming platform earlier this year, “TikTok is allowing the platform to be flooded with AI-generated recordings – as well as developing tools to enable, promote and encourage AI music creation on the platform itself – and then demanding a contractual right which would allow this content to massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists, in a move that is nothing short of sponsoring artist replacement by AI.”

Today, the companies reveal that they’ve also reached an agreement on AI. The statement reads, “TikTok and UMG will work together to ensure AI development across the music industry will protect human artistry and the economics that flow to those artists and songwriters.

“TikTok is also committed to working with UMG to remove unauthorised AI-generated music from the platform, as well as tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution.”

Ole Obermann, the Global Head of Music Business Development at TikTok, commented: “We are delighted to welcome UMG and UMPG back to TikTok. We look forward to working together to forge a path that creates deeper connections between artists, creators, and fans.

“In particular, we will work together to make sure that AI tools are developed responsibly to enable a new era of musical creativity and fan engagement while protecting human creativity.”

Michael Nash, the Chief Digital Officer and EVP of Universal Music Group, said that the record label is “gratified” to renew the relationship with TikTok, which is “predicated on significant advancements in commercial and marketing opportunities as well as protections provided to our industry-leading roster on their platform.

“With the constantly evolving ways that social interaction, fan engagement, music discovery and artistic ingenuity converge on TikTok, we see great potential in our collaboration going forward.”

UMG and TikTok renewed their relationship after Taylor Swift returned to the social media platform before the deal was struck.

The Music reported that TikTok’s ban on Universal, which muted the label’s artists’ music when users attempted to use songs on their videos, affected over 50% of the following week’s ARIA Chart.