When TikTok users open the app these days, they encounter a platform stripped of music by many of their favorite artists. Dancers bob and sway without a beat drop. Music from artists affiliated with Sony and Warner remains available on TikTok. But that did not stop some users from declaring they were departing to a rival platform, Instagram Reels, while others have made fun of Universal’s absence by dancing to songs in the public domain. The dominant feeling is frustration: What was the point of TikTok without one’s favorite melodies?

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Persons: Playboi Carti, Taylor Swift, Drake, Ariana Grande, TikTok, ”, Myah Elliott, “ It’s Organizations: Universal Music Group, Universal, Sony, Warner