Millions of songs will be removed from TikTok after Universal Music Group (UMG) announced that its contract with the platform has not been renewed.
According to the Daily Mail, the change will not be accessible due to the change of songs by extremely famous musicians such as Drake, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd.
The announcement was called “sad and disappointing” by Tikkok, who also claims that UMG is “putting its greed above the interests of its artists and songwriters.”
In a statement to the artist and songwriter community, UMG said Tikkok has, among other things, pushed for providing fair compensation to artists and songwriters during contract renewals.
“If no agreement is reached with TikKok, all numbers will be removed from the service as soon as the contract expires on Wednesday,” a spokesperson said.
In the letter, UMG accuses Tikkok of “trying to build a music-based business without paying a fair price for the music.”
According to UMG, Tikkok offered to pay songwriters and musicians a “fraction of the fine” that other major social media companies pay in the same situation.
In response, TikTok said, “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put its greed above the interests of its artists and songwriters.”
“Despite Universal’s false narratives and rhetoric, they have decided to do it without the strong support of a platform with over a billion users that serves as a free tool to advertise and discover their talents,” the company said.
