According to consequence.net, Universal Music Group and TikTok have come to terms on new licensing agreement that ends a three month stalemate that saw the world’s biggest record label pull its huge musical catalog from the social media platform. According to a press release, the deal will “deliver improved remuneration for UMG’s songwriters and artists, new promotional and engagement opportunities for their recordings and songs and industry leading protections with respect to generative AI.”
In regards to AI, TikTok will work with UMG to “remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform, as well as [develop] tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution.”
UMG initially pulled its catalog from TikTok on January 31 after the two companies failed to reach a new licensing agreement. At the moment, the label cited three main sticking points: artist compensation, AI protections and only safety protection for artists and fans.
As it pertained to compensation, UMG alleged that TikTok had proposed royalty rate that was “a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay” and noted that in 2022 TikTok had paid less in royalties ($220 million) than the fitness app Peloton ($267 million) despite having bigger user base. UMG and TikTok did not provide any specific details on their newly negotiated royalty rate.
Last month, U.S. Congress passed a bill demanding that the Chinese-owned company ByteDance sell TikTok within one year or face a permanent ban in the US. ByteDance says it has no intention to sell TikTok and has promised to take their fight to court.
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