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Universal Music Group reaches new licensing agreement with TikTok

Economic Times · 6m

Universal Music Group and TikTok have reached a new licensing agreement that will bring back the label's songs and artists to the social media platform. TikTok removed Universal's content in January after their licensing deal expired. The agreement includes royalty payments to artists and songwriters, protections from artificial intelligence (AI), and online safety for TikTok users. TikTok is a valuable marketing tool for the music industry, with 16- to 19-year-olds in the US commonly discovering music through the platform. Universal claimed that artists and songwriters are paid significantly less on TikTok compared to other social media platforms like YouTube. Taylor Swift allowed some of her songs to be available on TikTok as part of the negotiation process. Concerns over AI-generated music and TikTok's future in the US are also mentioned in the article.