After months of impasse, global leader in music-based entertainment, Universal Music Group (UMG) and social media platform dedicated for creating, sharing and discovering short videos, TikTok have reached an agreement that will see UMG’s music return to the App.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, May 1 by UMG, and obtained on its official web portal, the agreement will see TikTok pay more remuneration to UMG’s artistes and songwriters, provide them with more marketing tools, and also tackle the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“Universal Music Group, the world-leader in music-based entertainment and TikTok today announce a new multi-dimensional licensing agreement that will deliver significant industry-leading benefits for UMG’s global family of artistes, songwriters and labels and will return their music to TikTok’s billion-plus global community.
“The joint agreement marks a new era of strategic collaboration between the two organizations, built on a shared commitment to help UMG’s artists and songwriters achieve their creative and commercial potential. 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,” part of the statement read.
Commenting on the development, Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Group, Sir Lucian Grainge said: “This new chapter in our relationship with TikTok focuses on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry and the welfare of the creative community. We look forward to collaborating with the team at TikTok to further the interests of our artists and songwriters and drive innovation in fan engagement while advancing social music monetisation.”
“We’re gratified to renew our relationship with TikTok predicated on significant advancements in commercial and marketing opportunities as well as protections provided to our industry-leading roster on their platform.
The agreement between UMG and TikTok will come as a relief for artistes serviced by UMG’s subsidiaries as they can now resume exploring TikTok’s huge promotional benefits. It will also come as good news for fans that can now interact with their favourite artistes signed to UMG.
