Popular music finally returns to TikTok after months of negotiations with UMG

TikTok and UMG – Universal Music Group – announced that they’ve reached an agreement for music to be returned to TikTok after three months of negotiations, allowing TikTok users to add music to their videos again.

In February 2024, Universal Music Group (UMG) announced they were pulling their music from the short-form video app after TikTok refused to increase the payments that artists receive for their music being used on the app.

Because of this, popular songs from hit artists like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Billie Eilish were removed from the platform.

This led to users having to be creative when making new videos that require music, such as using alternative tracks or even singing the songs themselves.

On May 1, UMG and TikTok revealed they’d agreed on a new licensing agreement which means that UMG will make their music available for TikTok creators once again.

In the announcement, the two companies also revealed that as the music is returned to TikTok, they will work together to find new ways to monetize the music that will benefit both platforms. One of the things that will be added along with UMG’s music catalog are tools including “Add to Music App” which will let users save songs to their playlists directly from TikTok.

Artists will also have access to new data and analytic tools which will help them grow an audience as well as earn more money from the royalties when the songs are being used in a video.

UMG and TikTok also revealed they’d focus on protecting musicians and songwriters from AI technologies, and any unauthorized AI-generated music will be removed from the platform.

As of writing, no date has been set for when the UMG catalog will be back on TikTok.