Universal Music Artists to Return to TikTok After New Licensing Agreement — Update

By Adria Calatayud

Universal Music Group's artists and song catalogs will return to TikTok after the world's largest music company and the social-media platform agreed on a new licensing contract.

The deal comes after the companies failed to reach an agreement by the time their previous licensing contract expired at the end of January, prompting Universal to pull all of its artists' songs off TikTok at the beginning of February.

This marked an unusual step that put the spotlight on their battle over how much TikTok pays Universal--the company behind musicians including Taylor Swift and Drake--to make the label's vast catalog of songs available to one billion-plus social-media users worldwide

Under the new licensing pact, Universal's recorded music and publishing catalogs will return to TikTok, where users will be able to create videos using its music again, the companies said Thursday.

The deal will result in improved remuneration for Universal's songwriters and artists, as well as new promotional and engagement opportunities, the companies said.

The companies will work together on new monetization opportunities using TikTok's e-commerce capabilities and on campaigns to support Universal's artists globally, they said.

TikTok and Universal will also collaborate to ensure the development of artificial intelligence protects the economics of the music industry and its artists, they added.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 02, 2024 03:46 ET (07:46 GMT)

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