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Common music group mentioned Wednesday it can cease licensing its music to TikTok, accusing the quick video large of bullying and intimidation in its contract negotiations.
A music licensing deal between UMG and TikTok, owned by Chinese language tech large ByteDance, expired on Wednesday and no new phrases have been agreed. Which means UMG may get its music catalog from TikTok.
UMG mentioned in an open letter printed Wednesday that it has “pressured” TikTok throughout contract talks on three points: “acceptable compensation for our artists and songwriters, defending human artists from the dangerous results of AI, and on-line security for the customers of TikTok. “
The music label, which represents megastars from Taylor Swift to Drake, mentioned TikTok proposed paying its artists and songwriters “at a price that could be a fraction of the speed main social platforms pay in comparable conditions.” UMG mentioned just one% of its complete income comes from TikTok, regardless of the social community’s “enormous and rising person base, quickly rising promoting revenues and growing reliance on music-based content material.”
UMG additionally claimed that TikTok is permitting its platform to be “flooded with AI-generated recordings” and is creating instruments to “allow, promote and encourage AI music creation.” In keeping with UMG, TikTok is “demanding a contractual proper that might enable this content material to massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists, in a transfer that’s nothing wanting sponsoring the substitute of artists with AI.”
The music trade is grappling with the rise of synthetic intelligence, which might generate music and even mimic the voices of main artists.
UMG additionally mentioned TikTok makes “little effort to take care of the huge quantities of content material on its platform that infringes” on artists’ music.
The label firm accused TikTok of bullying and intimidation ways in contract negotiations.
“After we prompt that TikTok take comparable steps as our different platform companions to deal with these points, the corporate responded first with indifference after which with intimidation,” UMG mentioned.
“As our negotiations continued, TikTok tried to bully us into accepting a deal that was value lower than the earlier deal, far lower than honest market worth and that didn’t mirror their exponential progress. How did it attempt to intimidate us? Selectively deciding on the music of sure of our creating artists, whereas preserving our international star crowd-pleasers on the platform.”
TikTok accuses UMG of ‘greed’ for artists
TikTok responded to UMG’s allegations on Wednesday.
“It’s unhappy and disappointing that Common Music Group has put their very own greed above the pursuits of their artists and songwriters,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement.
“Regardless of Common’s false narrative and rhetoric, the actual fact is that they’ve chosen to stroll away from the highly effective help of a platform with nicely over a billion customers that serves as a free promotional and discovery instrument for his or her expertise.”
TikTok mentioned it has been in a position to “attain artist-first agreements with each different label and writer.”
Final yr, the corporate signed a music licensing take care of Warner Music Group.