TikTok users woke up Thursday and discovered that many videos using songs by stars like Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Drake and Ariana Grande had gone silent, after a public brawl between TikTok and Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company.
Here is a look at what happened and why, and some thoughts about what may come next.
On Tuesday, Universal Music, the global giant that releases music by hundreds of major artists, published a forceful open letter to TikTok as the end of its contract with the social media platform neared.
Universal said that TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, had not adequately addressed Universal’s concerns over A.I.-generated music on the platform, and that it would not agree to what Universal considered a satisfactory royalty rate.
“Ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business,” the label said, “without paying fair value for the music.”
Persons:
Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Drake, Ariana Grande, TikTok, ”
Organizations:
Universal Music Group, Universal Music, Universal
Locations:
A.I