Artist support company Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced that it will remove all songs from artists and songwriters who are currently promoting TikTok after the two sides disagreed on a new contract.
In an open letter, UMG, one of the world’s largest artist support companies, accused TikTok of what it called “harassment” and “intimidation” into accepting lower-than-usual contracts without disclosing the amount. yours. In a leaked letter apparently dated January 30, 2024 addressed to “the wider community of artists and songwriters who have met within the company”,
UMG announced that talks on a new contract with TikTok have ended without success, The original contract between the two parties ended on January 31, 2024, and so far it appears that it may not be renewed, which would mean that the fans of the artists who were already registered in UMG will no longer be able to see their songs on TikTok.
TikTok, after seeing the content of UMG’s letter, did not remain silent because it immediately commented on it, and in harsh words, it accused UMG of putting its own interests ahead of those of the artists and writers of the songs that it regularly plays.
TikTok continues to say that UMG has decided to leave the platform that is used by more than a billion people around the world and it does so regardless of the fact that it has played a major role in promoting and showcasing the talents of its artists for what they call “free”.
If the dispute between the two companies is not resolved it will affect the fans of artists including Drake, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Adele, U2, and Elton John because they will not be able to listen to their music again. Nigerians including Mr Eazi, Tekno, Larry Gaaga, Burna Boy and Tiwa Savage who already have deals with UMG will no longer be featured on TikTok and their content will be immediately removed.
TikTok, due to the number of people who already use it, is considered to be a powerful platform that can be used to showcase and promote the talents of artists or others who have activities related to entertainment. Even Nigerian artists in particular have taken it as a platform to promote their work.
