TikTok may be facing a countdown that could lead to its ban in the United States, but the popular social video platform has managed to put a different significant dispute behind it.
On Wednesday night, TikTok and Universal Music Group, the world’s biggest recorded music company, announced a new licensing deal that will bring back artists whose songs had vacated the platform.
The companies said the new deal also improves compensation for Universal Music Group songwriters and artists whose music is used to accompany videos on the app.
Under the new agreement, the companies will also work to increase e-commerce opportunities for artists, among other efforts to help musicians make money on TikTok. ByteDance-owned TikTok said it is committed to removing unauthorized AI-generated music on its platform.
The agreement ends a dispute that began in late January when the last deal expired. UMG said that TikTok was not paying “fair value for the music,” while TikTok accused UMG of putting “their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.”
Music by Universal Music Group artists including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and Ice Spice vanished from TikTok. Songs placed on existing videos were muted. The tunes were made unavailable to the millions of people who use the app — a key place where musicians promote their songs to fans.
Now that a deal has been reached, UMG artists will see their music return in one to two weeks. Videos that were muted will be unmuted, according to TikTok.
“Music is an integral part of the TikTok ecosystem and we are pleased to have found a path forward with Universal Music Group,” said Shou Chew, TikTok’s chief executive, in a statement. “We are committed to working together to drive value, discovery and promotion of all of UMG’s amazing artists and songwriters, and deepen their ability to grow, connect and engage with the TikTok community.”
“With the constantly evolving ways that social interaction, fan engagement, music discovery and artistic ingenuity converge on TikTok, we see great potential in our collaboration going forward,” said Michael Nash, chief digital officer and executive vice president at Universal Music Group, in a statement.
The agreement comes as TikTok is working to assure creators and users of its popular social video service that it is not going anywhere, despite government actions to ban it. TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, faces pressure under a new law to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations in 180 days, or else the app will be banned here.
TikTok said it plans to contest the law in U.S. court.
TikTok is just one of many platforms that help market music. Artists also use Google’s YouTube Shorts and Meta’s Instagram Reels for similar purposes. As TikTok’s future in the U.S. faces uncertainty, some creators have diversified their audiences to other platforms.
Simon Friend, chief operating officer of digital agency Round Group, which specializes in music marketing, said data show Shorts influencing the Billboard charts.
“So while this development feels like a return to course, the industry has had a significant period of discovery showing that TikTok is just one player in [user generated content’s] complex, but influential landscape,” Friend said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
