Universal Music's Publishing Arm Has Begun Pulling Songs From TikTok

Nearly a month after TikTok and Universal Music Group failed to renew their licensing agreement, songs published through Universal Music Publishing Group are being removed from the platform.

Attempts at negotiations between the two companies proved fruitless after their agreement expired on January 31. UMG cited a lack of appropriate compensation for artists, the app’s failure to curb AI-generated recordings and issues concerning online safety as its main reasons for not renewing.

While music created by UMG-represented artists – such as those signed to labels like Def Jam and Virgin Music Group – was already being taken off the app, Universal Music Publishing Group is now moving to remove its music as well.

UMG and UMPG are independent from one another, with the latter only focused solely on publishing rights.

UMPG sources told Variety that the company is first moving to remove its “Anglo-American” repertoire from TikTok, a list that includes musical stars such as “Adele, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Ice Spice, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Metallica, Metro Boomin, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, SZA [and] the Weeknd.”

UMPG likely has a 20 to 30% stake in each of the songs it publishes, of which there are estimated to be 4 million. It’s not totally clear if UMPG has the right to remove all of those tracks from TikTok, given it only has the rights to between 20 to 30% of most songs it publishes, per Variety.

The move could provoke TikTok to once again revisit a licensing agreement and potentially compromise on some of UMG’s terms.