Some Taylor Swift Tracks Return to TikTok, Regardless of Ongoing Dispute With UMG

Excellent news: Some Common Music is returning to TikTok.

Dangerous information: It’s only some songs by Taylor Swift.

That’s no shade to Swift, whose large fanbase will undoubtedly be excited that her music is returning to the app. It’s solely unhealthy information within the sense that TikTok and Common (UMG) haven’t come to a brand new settlement, that means that the remainder of UMG’s catalog stays off-limits within the short-form video app.

As a fast recap, again in January, UMG introduced that it could be pulling its tracks from TikTok after the 2 events couldn’t come to phrases on a brand new licensing settlement. UMG is likely one of the largest music producers on the planet, with artists like Adele, Drake, and Billie Eilish on its books.

And, in fact, Taylor Swift.

However now, with Swift’s new album set for launch subsequent week, some Swift tracks are again, although the small print of the deal should not clear.

As reported by Variety:

“It seems likely that the platform reached a separate deal with Swift, who owns her masters and presumably would have the ability to strike her own arrangement, even though her music is distributed by UMG and she signed with the company’s publishing division in 2020.”

Selection additionally notes that Swift could have a person promotion cope with TikTok for her new album, which is why her songs are again within the app.

However once more, the remainder of UMG’s tracks stay off limits.

UMG has accused TikTok of lowballing them with gives far decrease than their earlier licensing association, with TikTok wanting to make use of its energy as a music hit-maker to squeeze extra out of publishers.

UMG claims that TikTok’s new licensing supply is “far less” than what it will get from different social apps. Which is why it claims to now be shifting on from TikTok, and specializing in different alternatives as a substitute, which might be a giant shift, contemplating the function that TikTok now performs in music discovery.

Certainly, a TikTok commissioned report printed final November confirmed that TikTok customers are significantly more likely to both discover and share new music content in the app, whereas 75% of its users additionally discover new artists by way of TikTok clips.

Given the stats, you may see why TikTok feels prefer it has the higher hand in negotiations, although Common additionally needs to make sure that it’s being pretty paid for its artists’ work.

It appears possible, then, that the stand-off between the 2 will proceed on for a while but, although possibly, by way of smaller, short-term licensing offers like this, some UMG artists will nonetheless have the ability to share their tracks within the app, not less than sometimes.