UMG will not renew its contract with TikTok, claiming that the platform would not adequately address issues such as artist compensation, user safety, and the increasing prevalence of AI-generated music

UMG will not renew its contract with TikTok, claiming that the platform would not adequately address issues such as artist compensation, user safety, and the increasing prevalence of AI-generated music

Universal Music Group (UMG) plans to sever ties with TikTok, the label and publishing company announced Tuesday (January 30) in an open letter addressed to the “artist and songwriter community.” UMG revealed that, as of today, its negotiations for a new contract with TikTok have ended without an agreement, and that the expiring contract will not be renewed. That means that, if a new contract is not agreed upon today, music by artists including Taylor Swift, Drake, and Bad Bunny will not be available for use in videos on the social media platform.

In its statement, UMG claimed that it will cease licensing content to TikTok due to conflicting approaches to critical industry issues, specifically, how the platform plans to address artist compensation, TikTok user safety, and the growing prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI). UMG alleges that TikTok proposed paying its artists “a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay,” and that the service “has offered no meaningful solutions” to content issues like bullying, bigotry, and harassment, including pornographic deepfakes of artists. Find UMG’s full letter below.

  • heyitsmikey128@lemmy.world
    0·
    5 months ago

    The content on tiktok has moved far away from the music and dancing app it once was. That’s probably why tiktok was indifferent to this deal.

    • BobVersionFour@kbin.social
      0·
      5 months ago

      Make sense i mean the only goal of tiktok is china data collection and propaganda so as long as people use it they won’t care if it become only cooking video or kid eating grass

      • Jako301@feddit.de
        01·
        5 months ago

        the only goal of tiktok is china data collection and propaganda

        Data collection yes, propaganda no.

        Tiktok doesn’t exist in China so pro chinese propaganda for their own citizens isn’t possible. For everyone else the algorithm will push what you interact with. Looked at the cat video half a second longer? The rest of your home feed will be cat videos.

        Yes it is biasd towards propaganda due to its polarising nature that creates engagement, but it doesn’t push a specific type. It can be left or right wing and pro or contra China/USA, depending on your engagement.

        I still wouldn’t recommend the app. The sheer amount of time it tries to phone home is scary (but Google play services is even worse in that regard) and the echo chamber it creates as well as the doom scrolling it pushes will slowly destroy your mental wellbeing. But what i cam recommend is fiddling around with the algorithm in a containerised environment.