The Pop Corporation

TikTok are new media, and by and large, record companies are resolutely middle aged. With that, social media and physical media are going to be at loggerheads, and this time, it’s Universal Music who are at it, and they’re going to pull all their music from TikTok in the coming days, after failing to reach an agreement about money.

So, day-to-day, that means TikTok users won’t be able to (legally) use songs by Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, ABBA, Billie Eilish, Ice Spice and The Weeknd. There’s more artists obviously, but there’s some massive names on that roster.

Universal are unhappy with TikTok, basically accusing the video platform of ‘bullying’, as they wanted to pay a ‘fraction’ of the rate that other social media platforms pay, adding that TikTok is giving off a “false narrative and rhetoric”. Musicians, of course, who are making next to nothing from streaming and social platforms, must be wondering where all this money has been going in the first place.

That all said, Universal’s income from TikTok is around 1%, so this is either small fry for Universal, or it’s two big entertainment giants flexing with each other.

In an “open letter to the artist and songwriter community” Universal have said that “ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music”, and that they’re actually doing this for “appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters”, as well as “protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users”.

How very noble.

In response, TikTok said: “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters. Despite Universal’s false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.”

For anyone who proudly claims that they have nothing to do with TikTok and the whole thing is ridiculous, TikTok is responsible for 90% of the memes you’ve been watching on Instagram and showing your work mates like you’re hip.