ALBAWABA - A "multi-dimensional" agreement with TikTok will allow the artists from Universal Music Group's portfolio, including Drake, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift, to return to the platform's audience of over one billion users. UMG began removing its music from TikTok on February 1st, after the previous deal expired.
TikTok has resolved its royalty issue with Universal Music Group and will return the platform to millions of songs.
This means that users may once again create films that use music from singers like Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish.
Universal withdrew some of the most renowned performers in the world when a dispute erupted between TikTok and Universal about payment amounts.
The companies have announced "improved remuneration" for artists, suggesting that the gap has been repaired; however, they have not disclosed the exact amount of money that will be exchanged.
In an email that the BBC saw, Universal CEO Sir Lucian Grainge stated that TikTok has agreed to "important changes."
"Under the new agreement, artist and songwriter compensation will be greater than under our prior TikTok deal," according to him.
According to the companies, they are "working expeditiously" to restore Universal's music library to TikTok, with a completion date of less than two weeks.
The restoration of audio to videos muted during the disagreement will be one of these tasks.
Because she has full ownership of her songs' copyright, Taylor Swift—possibly the label's greatest star—could easily fulfil her separate agreement to surrender her music 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," Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, stated.
This comes at a time when the social networking site is fighting for its life in the US, intending to contest a statute that may lead to its sale or prohibition.
Drake and The Weeknd are two of the top performers returning to the platform after getting into an argument about AI in 2023.
Their voice-cloning song reached 15 million views on TikTok before being deleted, causing it to go viral.
According to Universal Music Group, it was illegal at the time.
The agreement that will bring the two acts back will also include what the firms are describing as "industry-leading protections" regarding AI on TikTok.
To "protect human artistry" from technology, TikTok and Universal have pledged to collaborate.
"TikTok is also committed to working with [Universal] to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform, as well as tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution," according to them.
Sir Lucian, who disclosed the contract, suggested eliminating "fake artist" AI tracks.
"TikTok has now addressed the primary concern we expressed in our open letter that AI-generated content would massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists," added the CEO.
