Universal Music Group, the world’s biggest music company, recently declared that it’s removing its music, including hits from Taylor Swift, Drake, Olivia Rodrigo, Bad Bunny, and many more artists, from TikTok.

This decision stems from the expiration of their license agreement with TikTok and unsuccessful renewal talks.

Universal Music Group claims that TikTok tried to pressure them into accepting an unfavorable deal that didn’t address concerns about fair compensation for artists and songwriters, protection against AI-generated music, and online safety for artists.

TikTok responded by expressing disappointment in UMG’s decision to walk away from a platform with billions of users. They accused the label of prioritizing greed over the interests of their artists and songwriters.

As a result, UMG-owned music in TikTok videos will be muted, and users will have to choose alternative options from other music labels to replace the removed tracks.

Now, does this mean you won’t hear any songs from UMG artists on TikTok anymore? Not exactly.

TikTok allows users to pick music for their videos from its vast song collection, featuring tracks from various labels and independent artists.

However, UMG’s catalog is no longer available for users to choose from. But you can still use your own music or play background music in your videos, as long as you have the right permissions.

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If you upload copyrighted music without permission, the copyright owner needs to issue a takedown notice to TikTok, prompting them to remove the music from your video.

TikTok, like YouTube, uses automated systems to monitor and manage copyright issues, which can be a bit like playing “Whac-a-Mole.”

The situation gets more complicated due to UMG’s withdrawal, affecting both its record labels and music publishing division, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).

UMPG handles the compositions of songwriters, creating an additional layer of complexity.

Detecting covers or remixes of songs is trickier than spotting matches to original recordings.

While TikTok has technology to identify copyrighted music, it mainly activates when users opt-in for a “video sound copyright check.”

TikTok has already muted audio on videos using UMG-published music and removed UMG’s catalog as a music choice.

However, it’s unclear how TikTok will handle user-uploaded UMG music in existing and future videos, especially with the increased risk of copyright violations.

TikTok might adopt a more rigorous copyright compliance approach, similar to YouTube’s Content ID system.

YouTube checks for copyright matches automatically, while TikTok relies on user opt-ins.

In conclusion, although UMG’s music is temporarily absent from TikTok, it’s likely that users will find ways to feature their favorite UMG songs, and the situation may evolve as negotiations between the companies progress.