Taylor Swift attended the 66th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California on February 4, 2024.
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universal music groupThe record labels of top music artists, including Taylor Swift, have reached new licensing deals with TikTok, ending a feud between the two companies.
UMG said in a statement Thursday that the licensing deal will result in the return of its artists’ music to TikTok.
As of Thursday morning, several Taylor Swift songs, including tracks from the pop star’s new album “The Tortured Poets Department,” had been restored to the platform, CNBC confirmed.
Earlier this year, TikTok sparked a public spat when it pulled songs from artists signed to UMG after the two sides failed to agree on a new deal to license content. Music by artists including Swift and Drake is unavailable on TikTok, owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance.
UMG accused TikTok of bullying and intimidation in contract negotiations and claimed that TikTok proposed paying its artists and songwriters “a fraction of what major social platforms pay in similar situations.”
At the heart of the dispute is the claim that TikTok allows its platform to undermine artists’ intellectual property rights through unauthorized artificial intelligence-generated songs. UMG claims social media platforms are “riddled with artificial intelligence-generated recordings.”
The new deal between UMG and TikTok aims to increase pay for songwriters and artists, provide promotional opportunities for their records, and introduce “industry-leading protections” in generating artificial intelligence.
UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge said the new agreement “focuses on the value of music, the primacy of human art and the well-being of the creative community.”
“We look forward to working with the TikTok team to further drive interest among our artists and songwriters and drive innovation in fan engagement while driving social music monetization.”
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the platform is “committed to working together to drive value, discovery and promotion for all of UMG’s incredible artists and songwriters.”
TikTok and UMG said they will work to ensure that artificial intelligence developments in the music industry protect artists and ensure they are adequately compensated for their work.
TikTok will also work with UMG to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from its platform and implement tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution.
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