TikTok seems like the easiest way to get your song noticed these days. With an estimated 1.5 billion monthly users and about 60% of their videos using music, it's an important part of the modern music ecosystem. However, the app itself doesn't have the best payout for artists and songwriters.
Universal Music Group has taken notice of the lack of compensation for artists and songwriters and has decided to pull their catalogs from the app. "Ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music."
UMG released "An Open Letter to the Artist and Songwriter Community: Why We Must Call Time Out on TikTok" explaining their decision. "We will always fight for our artists and songwriters and stand up for the creative and commercial value of music."
Who do you think wins in this situation? On one hand you have TikTok losing sounds from artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Drake, Noah Kahan, and more. On the other, those artists lose out on one of the most popular ways to market and promote their music... not to mention the income, even if minor, that they were receiving in royalties.
SOURCE: NBC News