Months after Universal Music Group pulled out its entire music catalog from TikTok because of concerns regarding compensation and the growing use of AI, both companies have finally settled with a new licensing agreement on May 1. This means that Tiktok users will be able to use songs licensed by Universal Music with their content.
Notable artists licensed under Universal Music include Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, and Billie Eilish.
Under the new licensing agreement that both Universal Music and TikTok signed, they have agreed to impose protections to artists and songwriters against generative AI. Their emphasis on generative AI is to ensure that UMG will remove any “unauthorized AI-generated music” TikTok. In addition to that, Universal Music also commits to ensure that artists and songwriters will be properly attributed.
“By harnessing TikTok’s best-in-class technology, marketing and promotional capabilities, UMG and TikTok will deliver improved remuneration for UMG’s songwriters and artists, new promotional and engagement opportunities for their recordings and songs and industry-leading protections with respect to generative AI,” Universal Music Group said in their official statement.
Aside from the emphasis on protecting artists from the potential abuse of generative AI, the licensing deals also mentions monetization opportunities for Universal Music artists by utilizing TikTok’s eCommerce capabilities. Both parties did not detail on how this will work, but we presume that artists might be given the opportunity to sell their merch through TikTok shop–or even hold sales for concert tickets if they want to maximize TikTok’s monetization platform.
